The coaching staff of the Russian national team was present at the match of the NHL regular season “Tampa Bay Lightning” – “Washington Capitals” (3: 2).
Head coach Alexei Zhamnov, his assistant Sergei Gonchar, NHL player relations manager Ilya Kovalchuk and scout Vladimir Malakhov attended the game, journalist Paul Kennedy said on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/PaulKennedyFOX/status/1455310097392062474
Five Russian hockey players played in the match: Tampa's goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevsky and defender Mikhail Sergachev, Washington's defender Dmitry Orlov, as well as forwards Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov.
Vasilevsky conceded two goals and made 31 saves, becoming the second star of the match. Kuznetsov scored a goal pass, and Orlov finished the match with a coefficient of +1. Ovechkin and Sergachev did not show effective actions.
The Olympic Games will be held from 4 to 20 February 2022 in Beijing. The Russian national team will play in Group B together with the teams of Switzerland, Czech Republic and Denmark. The preliminary stage games will take place from 9 to 13 February.