Title defense, fourth success or debut trophy: what awaits Ovechkin, Malkin and Kucherov in the new Stanley Cup

On the night of April 11 in North America starts the raffle of the Stanley Cup - the main prize of the National Hockey League. In the first round of the playoffs, the top 16 teams will compete in the regular season, for which nearly two dozen Russians will play. Alexander Ovechkin will have a chance to defend the title after last year’s triumph, Evgeni Malkin will try to win the trophy for the fourth time in his career and become the most titled domestic hockey player, and Nikita Kucherov, the best scorer of the league, will compete for his first championship ring.

Hike for the fourth Malkin Cup

For the three-time winner of the Stanley Eugene Malkin Cup, the last regular championship was not the most successful, that the player has repeatedly recognized himself. In his team, he took only fourth place in performance, scoring 72 points and scoring just 21 goals - the attacker had lower accuracy in only two seasons, one of which was shortened because of the lockout.

However, most of the claims to Malkin can be made because of the utility indicator - the hockey player went down by 25 points, which no other Pittsburgh Penguins player allowed himself. Before the start of the playoffs such statistics can not be happy.

However, it is worth remembering how two years ago Malkin scored the same 72 points, and a year earlier - only 58, after which the Russian hockey player killed everyone in the campaign for two Stanley Cups. For Malkin, now everything will start from scratch, and he has repeatedly demonstrated the ability to switch from the regular season to the playoffs, otherwise he would not be the second in the list of the best Russian scorers in the Stanley Cup. It is possible that a native of Magnitogorsk will soon become the first and will be ahead of Sergei Fedorov, who has a handicap of 11 points.

True, without a release in the second round, there is no need to dream of a record, and the first test for Pittsburgh will be the New York Islanders - the team that missed the least goals in a season. To make the fourth Stanley Cup more real for Malkin, he needs to win the classic hockey confrontation of attack and defense.

Protection Ovechkin, Kuznetsov and Orlov

For many years, Alexander Ovechkin and his "Washington Capitals" became the main disappointments of the playoffs. Time after time one of the best NHL hockey players could not lead his team to victory in the Stanley Cup, which is why the pressure on him only increased. Finally, a year ago, Ovechkin succeeded in throwing this heaviest stone from his shoulders and lifting the coveted trophy instead. Now the attacker has another task - to bring “Washington” to the second victory in a row.

It will not be easy for the team in the capital, even considering the fact that the playoffs will begin in a series with the outsider Caroline Hurricanes. “Washington” has not changed much, while other teams had a whole year to find a remedy against the Capitals. So far, no antidotes have been found, and the team went through the regular season without interruption, and Ovechkin himself showed performance miracles, winning the eighth Maurice Richard Trophy with 51 goals.

Although Alexander the Great, as they call him overseas, did not win the Stanley Cup for a long time, sniper accuracy in the playoffs was always with him - on average, he throws fantastic half pucks per game. Among the Russians, only Malkin, who had 62 goals against 61 in Ovechkin, differed more often in the playoffs. In the campaign for the second title, the captain of “Washington” may well rewrite another national record for himself.

Almost all other Washington players will defend the title, including Dmitry Orlov and last year’s playoff top scorer Yevgeny Kuznetsov. If the defender in the current season can not be claims, then a native of Chelyabinsk slightly slowed down not only in terms of performance, but also in successful actions when the throw-in, which he used to be famous for. The success of the team will depend largely on whether Kuznetsov returns to his previous level, because it will be too difficult for Ovechkin alone.

Kucherov in the campaign for the first title

Perhaps, of all the Russian hockey players who have not yet won the Stanley Cup, Nikita Kucherov deserves his first title most of all. He had previously been worthy of raising a silver cup above himself, but after the current fantastic season of his claim it is simply impossible to doubt. Kucherov finished the regular season with a fantastic 128 points for performance, which has not been achieved in the NHL for a long time.

But not always the owner of the Art Ross Trophy automatically turned into the owner of the Conn Smart Trophy - the prize for the best player in the playoffs. Over the past ten years, only Yevgeny Malkin underwent such a transformation. However, Kucherov already has a certain experience of playing in the Stanley Cup - it’s enough to remember how at 21 he reached Tampa Bay Lightning before the final and scored 22 points, only one point behind the top scorers.

In addition, Kucherov is not the only one in the team who is the best in the league in his business. Andrei Vasilevsky is also prettier from year to year and is now the main favorite for the prize of the best goalkeeper of the season. In the past "regular season" he was not equal in the number of victories, and this is a very important indicator for the goalkeeper. Just like Kucherov, Vasilevsky remembers the battles with “Chicago Blahkouks” in the 2015 final and should know how now to prevent defeat in one of the playoff series.

Advertising Panarin and Bobrovsky

Kucherov and Vasilevsky will begin the Stanley Cup campaign with meetings with the Columbus Blue Jackets. In the first round of the Stanley Cup, this will be the most Russian confrontation, because Artemy Panarin and Sergey Bobrovsky will play against Tampa.

For them, however, the question of winning the playoffs is not so relevant. Still, “Columbus” and so with difficulty turned out to be in the top eight teams in the East, so far, so far it should not qualify for anything more.

But this does not mean that the Russian diaspora of the team should be idle. Just Panarin and Bobrovsky will have a huge motivation to demonstrate themselves from the best side. July 1, they enter the market of free agents and must prove that they are valuable lots.

Both players have room to grow - the reputation of non-cubed fighters has been fixed behind them. For three participation in the playoffs, Panarin scored only 15 points, and Bobrovsky for the same period scored only five wins. In the confrontation with the best team of the "regulars" to correct the reputation will be difficult, but not impossible - sometime after all, their finest hour must come, which at the same time will bring a solid contract for next season.

Radulov against the first team

In the West, Russian hockey players are traditionally smaller, but they exist and also make them talk about themselves. For example, Alexander Radulov spent a great season at Dallas Stars. The attacker, whose relationship with the NHL began to take shape only in the fourth decade, updated his personal best scoring performance record and repeated the bombing achievement of 72 points, despite the fact that he failed to fully play the entire year without any problems. Radulov finished the regular season with the most useful Russian player - “+22” in the end of 70 matches.

Now Alexander will have to play against the team in which he began his overseas career, returned to it and left the scandal - Nashville Predators. Saying that a striker in the capital doesn’t like country music is to say nothing. Radulov will perform under enormous pressure, but he will have the support of Ben Bishop and Anton Hudobin, the best goalkeeper in the conference.

Perhaps, “Dallas” will be helped by Valery Nichushkin, who established the curious NHL anti-record - for 57 matches he has never been distinguished by abandoned washers, but has never been fined by the judges. His dry series simply cannot go on, so Nichushkin has a chance to become the discovery of the current playoffs.

Continuing feats Tarasenko

In the middle of the season, the fans of St. Louis Blues experienced real despair. Their team ranked last in the NHL standings. But then Vladimir Tarasenko took up the rescue. Largely thanks to his efforts, the guys from the banks of the Mississippi scored the most points in 2019 and still made their way into the playoffs. In the last 39 matches, the striker has scored 46 points, so he is in perfect shape for his sixth Stanley Cup.

“St. Louis” in the first round will meet with the “Winnipeg Jets”, and this will be the most Russian confrontation in the West. Dmitry Kulikov and Bogdan Kiselevich will play against Tarasenko and progressive Ivan Barbashev. For all three playoffs is a wonder, even for the experienced Kulikov. No matter how this series ends, she will give two good hockey players to the Russian team at the World Cup.

Possible surprises

For the second year in a row, the Toronto Maple Leafs will face Boston Bruins in the first round of the Stanley Cup. This means that defender Nikita Zaitsev will once again experience the full power of the American team. The Canadian club in the current regular season was not a stronghold of defense, but the most titled coach in the NHL, Mike Babcock, should have a plan for the second half of the season.

For Nikita Zadorov and Semyon Varlamov, the struggle for the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche is already a good achievement. At the last moment, the team pulled out Wilde Card and hit the militant Calgary Flames. The chances of the Russians to extend the season are not great - Zadorov is not the type of defenders who successfully opposes the high-speed players of the Canadian club, and Varlamov has recently been increasingly watching hockey from the bench. But in the playoffs, miracles are always possible, similar to the one that the Colorado did in the end of the regular season.