Reaction after beating Sweden at the 2021 World Championship

Following the 3:2 penalty shootout victory against Sweden in the sixth match of the 2021 IIHF World Championship, senior Russian national team head coach Valeri Bragin, defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forward Anton Slepyshev all shared their emotions:

Head coach Valeri Bragin:

- Both Vladimir Tarasenko and Dmitry Orlov produced solid performances on their tournament debut, they will improve as the competition continues. This was a very useful match for us ahead of the knockout stages, Alexander Samonov was excellent in net and we displayed good ice hockey at times. I am liking the line with Dmitry Voronkov, Anton Slepyshev and Mikhail Grigorenko, they're playing well. We will continue searching for new line combinations.

Defenseman Dmitry Orlov:

- It wasn't an easy game today, the Swedes played their best ice hockey. For our part, we need to improve across the ice, especially in the attacking zone. The most important thing now is to rest and prepare for tomorrow's match. The Belarusians have nothing to lose, they're in last place of Group A, so they will certainly play to win. We have to focus on our performance level ahead of the knockout phase. The different ice size in comparison to the NHL? The pace of the game is still high, but I did find it tough-going during the opening frame. We increased the intensity of our play in the third period, we required goals and we competed with pace.

Forward Anton Slepyshev:

- We all know Vladimir Tarasenko and Dmitry Orlov well, they've been able to quickly settle into the group. I would like to take this opportunity to wish our head coach, Valeri Bragin, a very happy birthday! We were prepared for Sweden, this was their last chance to remain in contention for qualification to the knockout phase of the tournament. Did we expect the Swedes to pull their goaltender in the final minute? The coaches warned us that they might be planning that, but they decided against that idea.