Alexander Radulov pays tribute to «incredible» Malkin on his return to Nashville

Russian star Alexander Radulov, who recently returned to Nashville after spending several seasons in the KHL, commented on his «debut» for the Predators and paid tribute to fellow Russian Yevgeny Malkin, whose two goals helped the Penguins to a 5-1 victory.

«He’s a good friend of mine because we are the same age and we were playing against each other as kids,» Radulov said of Malkin. «So I’ve known him a long long time. We’ve got a good relationship. While he was playing here and I was playing there we just call each other sometimes. In the summer I saw him a lot.»

«He’s unbelievable,» the former Salavat Yulaev star continued. «What do you want me to say? He’s is on fire right now, one of the best in the NHL, so (good) for him.»

Speaking about the Preds’ defeat, Radulov admitted that he was still a little rusty after the long-distance flights.

«My legs were little bit burning, but it’s not excuse,» Radulov said. «It was a loss so it doesn’t matter. We’ve got to regroup – we’ve got a big game coming up at home against Winnipeg. We’ve got to score more. We had chances and we’ve got to bury them.»