Word is Vlad personally picked the coach. He is surely on the hook for this.
Russia by far played their best game against the US. They really struggled against inferior teams like Slovakia and Norway. Norway particularly stunned me because they are, aside from Mats Zuccarello, a beer league team. Russia just could not score. Maybe that loss to us just took all the wind out of their sails.
Once again Alexander Ovechkin was absolutely M.I.A.
I googled the Russian coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov. He coached and played for HC Dynamo Moscow. The club was sponsored by the KGB. No wonder Vlad picked him.