BEIJING —
Defending champions Russia struggled past Switzerland 1–0 on Wednesday to begin
a Beijing Olympic men’s ice hockey tournament short on star power after
National Hockey League (NHL) players stayed home over COVID-19.
اضافة اعلان
The Russian gold-medal defense got a boost
from the NHL no-show, which forced powerhouses Canada and the US to name
untested young squads against the experienced Russians and Europeans.
The big, physical Russians feature top talent
from the country’s Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), widely considered the
world’s second-best league after the NHL.
But they were never able to fully impose
their dominance on the scrappy Swiss, who are ranked eighth in the world.
The only goal came when a wild first-period
pass into the crease by forward Anton Slepyshev took a fluky ricochet into the
net.
With several players returning from the
line-up that beat Germany for gold four years ago, the Russians are considered
potential favorites along with an experienced Finland side in a competition
thrown wide open by the NHL’s absence.
Wednesday’s other Group B opener pits the
Czech Republic against Denmark.
The other two groups begin play on Thursday,
highlighted by Group A action, with Canada taking on Germany and the US facing
off with
Olympic debutants China.
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