Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics: Russians beat Switzerland in ice hockey opener

The Russian ice hockey team has started its defense of the Olympic men's gold medal with a 1-0 win over Switzerland in Beijing. It wasn't the convincing start to the tournament the Russians may have hoped for as they were outshot 33-30 by a Swiss team not expected to contend for a medal.

The Russians, playing as the Russian Olympic Committee, had a slice of good fortune for the only goal. A shot from former Edmonton Oilers forward Anton Slepyshev took a double bounce off Swiss goaltender Reto Berra's pad and Enzo Corvi's leg on its way into the goal with 2.7 seconds left of the first period.

Fabrice Herzog could have sent the game to overtime when he hit the frame of the goal late in the third period. Russian goaltender Ivan Fedotov had 33 saves for the shutout on his Olympic debut.