One of the main characters of the match between the Russian national hockey team and the Latvian team was forward Nikita Kucherov. On the eve of the Russians won the fifth consecutive victory at the World Championships, and Kucherov first helped his partner in the link Nikita Gusev to realize the majority, and then he upset Elvis Merzlikin. However, the player of the match was recognized as the author of the first goal against the opponent's defender Dmitry Orlov, and the top scorer again remained in the shadows.
The current season can be called the most successful in the career of a young forward. Throughout the regular NHL championship, the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey player demonstrated phenomenal performance and helped his team succeed. Largely due to his outstanding performance, Floridians not only won the Presidential Cup, but also repeated the record of the legendary Detroit Red Wings of the times of Sergei Fedorov, Vyacheslav Fetisov and Igor Larionov in terms of the number of victories. In 82 matches, both teams took the top 62 times.
However, Kucherov also excelled in his personal field. He not only became the top scorer of the regular season for the first time in his career, for which he deservedly won the Art Ross Trophy, but also set the record for the season in the NHL among Russians. Forward "Tampa Bay" managed to surpass the achievement of Alexander Mogilny, which was held for 26 years. Nikita scored 128 (41 goals + 87 assists) points - one more than his illustrious compatriot.
It was to be expected that after that Kucherov will be perceived as the main star of the Russian team. But it soon became obvious that the young striker was given much less attention than his more eminent teammates. So, it was mainly said about Alexander Ovechkin, Evgenia Malkin and Ilya Kovalchuk. Of course, each of them achieved a similar attitude towards himself with a long and successful performance both in clubs and in the national team, but Nikita did not deserve to be underestimated.
The only way for Kucherov to be in the spotlight again was to repeat what he managed this season in the NHL. The striker needed to show his indispensability for the team again, stamping points in each meeting. And from the very start of the world championship he began to perform this task.
So, at the moment, Kucherov distinguished himself in all five meetings of the Russian national team at the tournament. However, only in the game with the Czech Republic, he left the ice with one score, and in all the others recorded at least two at his own expense. Even for a non-match with obvious Italians outsiders Nikita approached the most motivated, resulting in a marked goal and three assists.
Due to his successful performance, he is not only the leader in the number of points scored among Russians, but also ranks second in the ranking of scorers throughout the World Cup.
After five meetings, Kucherov has 12 (4 + 8) points, which is only one less than Swede William Nylander.
But that's not all. Kucherov also divides the first place among Russians in terms of utility. At the moment, he is “+7” - the same for Gusev, Nikita Zaitsev and Mikhail Sergachev. At the same time, the favor of the Lightning forward is supported by the fact that during his campaign the team never missed an equal composition, which cannot be said, for example, of the defender Toronto Maple Leafs.
However, it is practically impossible to explain the contribution of Kucherov to the success of the team only by statistical indicators. During the tournament, his bond with Gusev became almost the most discussed at the championship of the planet. Former partners in the “Red Army” are so harmoniously interacting with each other, that some journalists began to seriously discuss the possible exchange of the forward “Vegas Golden Knights” in “Tampa”.
Against the background of the majority of athletes, Kucherov emphasizes great thinking and the ability to find non-standard moves in the process of organizing attacks. It was they who often helped him and his partners in the link take the opponent's defenders off guard. It is enough to recall the actions of a striker in a match with Norway, when he helped Gusev to distinguish himself, or in a game with Austria. Then he performed the verified diagonal on the namesake, and the one in contact addressed the puck to Yevgeny Dadonov. The best sniper of the Russian team could only miss.
It is noteworthy that such ingenuity is inherent in Kucherov during the entire tournament. By the match with Latvia, he not only failed to slow down, but became even more unpredictable. He knows when to hold the puck a little, and when it is necessary to play with one touch, thanks to which he perfectly controls the rate of attack development. Often he acts a little academic, making, for example, an elegant transfer with a U-turn. But in his case, even a small dude looks justified and timely.
Perhaps, in the current team, only a couple of players can compare with Kucherov in terms of thinking on the ice. In addition to Gusev, who is not inferior to his partner in the ability to design attacks, only Malkin is endowed with such abilities. Given the fact that Eugene is only the fourth Russian hockey player in history, who managed to win the Stanley Cup three times, the comparison is more than flattering.
It is noteworthy that Malkin himself managed to compliment himself on Kucherov. As part of the final stage of the Euro Hockey Tour, both hockey players operated at the same level, but later Vorobyov decided to separate them and did not lose.
“Under such players as Kucherov need to adapt. Give them the puck so that they have 60 minutes to own it, create moments, throw it away, give it away. I think the coaches did the right thing by breaking us. Moreover, Gusev combines very well with him, they sometimes beat the whole top five of the rival together, ”RIA Novosti quotes Malkin.
In addition, do not forget about his sniper skills. Last season, he was a leader in the NHL sniper race for a long time, only slowing down the pace during the second third of the distance. As a result, he conceded the palm to Ovechkin and Patrick Laine from Winnipeg Jets. However, at the World Championships, he has already distinguished himself four times and shares ninth place in the ranking with Nulander and Swiss Kevin Fiala.
At one time, Kucherov’s ability to hit the opponent’s goal was noted by Lightning mentor John Cooper. So, according to the specialist, he has the unique ability to direct the puck exactly where it is needed.
“His throws have eyes, so this is pure mathematics. The more he throws, the more he gets. Sometimes he starts making extra passes, but when he realizes this, he starts attacking again, ”the NHL press service quoted the coach as saying.
On Sunday, May 19, the Russian team will play with a team of Switzerland in its sixth, the penultimate match of the group stage. On the eve of the wards Patrick Fisher gave a real battle to the Swedes, but in the very ending missed the decisive goal and lost with a score of 3: 4. It is not surprising that after this meeting most of the questions concerned the future battle with the “red machine”, and the mentor did not hesitate to give the names of the strongest players of the opponent.
“The best way to stop Gusev and Kucherov is not to leave, then they will not be able to play the majority. We know that they are very masterful and work great in unequal compositions. We need to make a good plan against them, the best way is to be disciplined and not to miss stupid fines, ”Fisher said.
Kucherov has already managed to become the leader of the Russian national team in the number of points in the tournament and one of the key factors of a successful game in the majority. Now he will have to once again confirm his status in matches with leaders of Octet B. In the event that the Tampa Bay forward demonstrates its maximum once again and leads the team to victory, it can no longer be ignored.