Russia's unconvincing start at the world hockey championships not a point of concern, the country's legendary defenseman Vyachelsav Fetisov told RIA Novosti on Tuesday.
Russia beat Latvia 5-2 in its opener and followed that up with a 4-2 win over Norway, but the team failed to score in either of the first periods, something Russia center Alexander Svitov put down to nerves and a lack of concentration.
Russia is expected to make it three wins later Tuesday against a German team that beat Italy 3-0 but lost 3-2 to Latvia.
"This is a team of champions," Fetisov said, referring to the Russians. "They aren't playing badly, the coaches have identified what needs to be done in the first stage. There are no concerns yet."
Russia, led by NHL stars Pavel Datsyuk and Evgeny Malkin, could be further boosted by the addition of Nashville's Alexander Radulov after his Predators were dumped out of the NHL playoffs by the Phoenix Coyotes on Monday.
But Radulov's agent Yuri Nikolaev told RIA Novosti that his client has a knee injury that may require surgery, though if so, he hoped it could be postponed until after the world championships.
After the Germany game, Russia will play Denmark, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Italy. The top four of the eight teams in the group go through to the quarterfinals.
