Tretiak, Markov on same Olympic page

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Russian goaltender Vladislav Tretiak, photographed in January 1972 a month before the Sapporo Olympics.
UN DA-SIN/AFP/Getty Images

DAVE STUBBS
The Gazette

Andrei Markov has a city of fans behind him in his rehabilitation from a gruesome foot injury suffered late in the first game of this National Hockey League season.

On Saturday, the all-star Canadiens defenceman learned there’s an entire nation pulling for him, too.

Russian hockey legend Vladislav Tretiak broke bread with Markov before the Canadiens-Washington Capitals game, a meal that satisfied the appetites and curiosities of both men.

Tretiak was in Montreal on a scouting mission, loudly embraced as usual by Canadiens fans when the first-period scoreboard showed him in the crowd. The 57-year-old Hall of Famer is president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and general manager of his country’s Vancouver 2010 Olympic hockey team.