Oleg Znarok: "This victory will give us confidence"

Head coach Oleg Znarok:

- The first game didn't go well, so we decided to make changes to the line-up. 

- Did you need the training camp more for physical conditioning rather than putting the lines together?

- Why? We have to make decisions based on certain decisions.

- Ilya Kovalchuk played in a line with a physical forward, and he played in a physical style too. What that the plan?

- We decided to put those players together and it worked.

- Why didn't Vadim Shipachyov play?

- He didn't feel well.

- Can he play tomorrow?

- Yes.

- Does Ilya Kablukov deserve a place on the roster for tomorrow's match?

- It's too early to say anything, but he did well today, just like the whole team.

- How important is this victory in terms of confidence?

- Very. However, I don't want the players to be euphoric.

- The next match will take place tomorrow.

- We have a plan. The training camps were designed to make us ready for these matches.

- Was it a perfect match today?

- A coach will never say that it was a perfect match. Mistakes were made.

- As a percentage, how much of their potential have the players shown?

- 60%. There are no weak opponents here.

- Nikolai Prokhorkin has a -2 plus/minus rating today.

- We'll look into this.

- Maybe Kirill Kaprizov feels euphoric after scoring a hat trick?

- I don't know, I was talking about the team as a whole.

- Have you watched the USA's matches.

- Of course we're watching them, we will analyse how they play.

- Who will play in net against the Americans?

- Vasily Koshechkin.

- How is Sergei Kalinin?

- Everything's fine.

- Does Ilya Kovalchuk feel easier after scoring his first goal at these Olympic Games?

- We have a team playing, not just one player.

- It seemed as though you entered the attacking zone by dumping the puck in.

- Slovenia skate backwards towards their goal, so we decided to dump the puck into the zone.

Russian Ice Hockey Federation