Vladislav Tsitsyura: "Despite the score, it was a tough series"

HC SKA forward Vladislav Tsitsyura:

- Despite the score, it was a tough series. Every match was difficult, and two of the five games went to overtime. Dinamo Minsk have a strong team, but I felt that we wanted the victory more than them. We saved the match. Now, we'll prepare to face Dynamo Moscow.

- Did SKA compete at the required level for the full duration of the match?

- I think that any team has both positive and negative moments during games. It depends on both yourself and the opponents. Sometimes, the opposing team starts to improve, or you become tired and begin taking penalties. This is normal.

- This was your maiden appearance in the KHL Gagarin Cup playoffs. How do you feel?

- The playoffs are different, here players go out to die for their respective teams. The matches are more physical across all zones. In the playoffs, you have to be a real team player.

- Valeri Bragin trusts SKA's young players, even in overtime. What does he demand of you personally?

- He treats everyone the same way. Naturally, we have leaders in the team who score the majority of our goals. There are experienced guys here, who have been playing for SKA over the course of a number of years. We need to match their level. Furthermore, we also want to tally points, the coaches don't prohibit us from scoring goals!