'Rusty' Russians begin defence of Olympic hockey crown with shaky win

The Russians struggled past Switzerland 1-0 on Wednesday to begin their defence of a Beijing Olympic men's ice hockey tournament short on star power after National Hockey League (NHL) players stayed home over Covid.

The NHL no-show is a boost for the reigning champions, forcing powerhouses Canada and the United States 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 impose their will on the scrappy Swiss, who are ranked eighth in the world. 

The only goal came when a wild first-period flick into the crease by forward Anton Slepyshev took a fluky ricochet into the net.

"We haven't played for a month so we were a bit rusty, but we got the result," said forward Mikhail Grigorenko.

"I think we're ready (to win gold again)."

The Swiss were left to rue a lost opportunity after they out-shot the Russians 33 to 30 but were unable to get anything past two-metre (6-foot-6) goalkeeper Ivan Fedotov, despite hitting the post twice.

"Some days they go in, some days they don't. Today it didn't," said Swiss forward Sven Andrighetto.

"It was a hard-fought battle and I think it was pretty even, but at the end of the day, if you don't score a goal it's pretty tough to win a game." 

With several players returning from the line-up that beat Germany for gold four years ago, the Russians are considered potential favourites 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 United States facing off with Olympic debutants China.