At an online conference organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation, Ovechkin remarked that Belarus had been the better side this season, citing their 5-0 win over Austria and their good playing at a match lost to Slovakia 1-2, which he thinks should have earned them a draw.
Sharing his impressions of the two qualifiers against Austria, Ovechkin said that the first-leg match, on Austria's home turf, had been particularly demanding for Russia, yet they won 4-2. When playing Slovakia, Russia did make a few mistakes, but displayed perseverance and got very close to a victory, he remarked. (Russia were losing 0-2 and 2-3, but managed to equalize just two minutes ahead of the final whistle, so the match ended in a 3-3 draw).
A fan from Switzerland wondered why the Russian forward wore a tinted-glass visor instead of a regular one. "This is my personal style. Anyone interested can buy such a helmet in the store, though," he said.
Speaking of his idols, Ovechkin singled out the legendary Dinamo forward Alexander Maltsev, his teammate Pavel Datsyuk, and NHL veteran Jerome Iginla of Canada.
Datsyuk's name also came up in Ovechkin's reply to a question about his outside interests. "I adore video games. Pavel and I have been battling each other on a soccer simulator lately. But I won't say which of us is the more frequent winner, " he said.
Russia and Slovakia are leading in their group, with three points each. Belarus have two points and Austria, nil. But whatever the outcome of their final match with Belarus, Russia will advance into the second qualifying round, to face the Czech Republic, Switzerland, Kazakhstan or Germany.
