NAGANO, Japan (AP) -- And the first active NHL player to score a goal in Olympic competition is ... Ruslan Salei? 
 Sorry, Wayne Gretzky and all you other big-name stars who arrived in Nagano just a bit too late. Salei, who has a mere four goals in 40 games this season with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, got an early start because of an NHL suspension and scored a goal Monday to help Belarus defeat Germany 8-2. 
 Salei was suspended two games without pay and fined $1,000 for a head-butt in a Feb. 1 game against Chicago. The infraction diminished his bank account but made him a footnote in Olympic lore. 
 "It's exciting to be the first. It's like making history," said Salei, whose rising slap shot gave Belarus a 2-0 lead with 14:51 elapsed. "The suspension cost me a lot of money, but I got here early and get to play for my team." 
 France's 5-2 victory over Japan in Monday's other game gave Belarus the Group B title and a berth in the final round against teams loaded with NHL standouts. Belarus, a former Soviet republic making its Olympic hockey debut, will face Russia on Friday. 
 "It's going to really different from today," Salei conceded. 
 At least Belarus will get a chance to play against the big boys. Germany will finally add its three NHL stars for what amounts to two inconsequential games -- against France on Tuesday and the positional finale Thursday. 
 Before the tournament started, Germany coach George Kingston feared that the arrival of Colorado Avalanche defenseman Uwe Krupp, San Jose Sharks forward Marco Sturm and Washington Capitals goalie Olaf Kolzig would occur too late to make a difference. 
 His apprehension was justified. 
 "They'll come in today, look around and see we had a tough day at the office," Kingston said. "It's regrettable for the players. Today we suffered." 
 Kingston claimed that Germany faced an additional obstacle because Salei was allowed to play for an already formidable Belarus team. 
 "I simply do not understand the world of hockey, when a player who is suspended is allowed to play for his country," he said. 
 The focus was also on one player in the second game, although there was no controversy surrounding the eligibility of France's Christian Pouget, who scored the go-ahead goal on a backhander with 2:55 remaining. 
 "Christian Pouget is an excellent hockey player," Japan coach Bjorn Kinding said. "He made the difference between two very even hockey teams."