Russian doubles: Kucherov and Ovechkin scored two goals in the matches of the NHL regular season

Kucherov’s performance and Tampa’s success

Tampa Bay Lightning striker Nikita Kucherov was recognized as the second star of the next game day in the National Hockey League (NHL). In an away match with the “Toronto Maple Leafs” he scored twice and gave two assists. The meeting ended with a score of 7: 3 in favor of the guests.

Already in the third minute, a massive attack on the gates of Frederick Andersen ended with an accurate pass of the Russian to the stick of Braden Point, who had only to transfer the puck into the net. For the Canadian striker, this meeting was the first this season, as he had to miss the start of the championship in connection with the recovery procedure after hip surgery.

The hosts responded with two goals for three and a half minutes, and then again the time came Kucherov. In the 12th minute, when playing for the most part, he made a lightning throw from the right throw-in circle, taking the Toronto players by surprise.

The events of the first period did not end there. The teams again exchanged goals abandoned by the efforts of Kevin Shattenkirk and Oston Matthews, and before the break, Tampa came forward thanks to a goal by Stephen Stamkos. Through the efforts of the forward, this twenty minute became the most productive since the beginning of this season.

Canadians left all their strength in the initial third of the match, and further on the ice guests dominated. At the 31st minute, Kucherov's trio worked perfectly again. The Russian played the puck with Stamkos, and Point again put in time the club on his nickle.

The sixth goal against Toronto with the transfer of defender Mikhail Sergachev was scored by Ondrej Palat, and Kucherov set the final score in the match.

After two starting meetings of the championship, in which the striker failed to score a single point, he again made him talk about himself as one of the brightest stars in the NHL. However, the hockey player himself paid tribute to his teammates.

“Playing with these guys is a pleasure. I hope that we will remain in this five, abandon many goals and lead the team to success, ”Tampa Bay Times quoted Kucherov as saying.

At the same time, according to hockey expert Pierre Lebrun, the result of Florida players this season will largely depend on the Russian striker. The playoffs will be indicative for himself.

“About whether there will be a new chapter in his career, only the Stanley Cup will tell. All the great players were judged that way, and I think that Nikita would not want it to be different with him. I feel that Kucherov is one of the most underrated star hockey players in the league. This is partly due to the fact that he doesn’t communicate with journalists so often, ”The Atletic quotes Lebrun.

New achievements Ovechkin and the third consecutive defeat of “Washington”

Another productive match was held by Nashville Predators and Washington Capitals. The team of Alexander Ovechkin lost with a score of 5: 6, but the Russian himself was noted immediately with two achievements.

In the first period, the hosts and guests split the world, exchanging goals. The second passed under the sign of the captain of the metropolitan team, who issued the double. At the 25th minute, Ovechkin realized a numerical advantage with a throw to the touch. In this he was helped by John Carlson, as well as compatriot Evgeny Kuznetsov, transferred from the third link to the second.

Forward “Nashville” Ryan Johansen equalized, but five minutes later, the efforts of Tom Wilson went ahead. The captain of “Washington” doubled the advantage of his team, first forcing a foul on himself Roman Josie, and then again realizing the numerical advantage. This goal became for Ovechkin 249th, scored in the majority, which allowed him to reach fourth place for this indicator in the history of the NHL.

However, hitting two goals was not enough, and the last period went under the dictation of the hosts. At first, Johansen and Matt Duchenne reduced the gap. TJ Oshi pushed Washington forward again, but his efforts came to naught after Nick Bonino and Matthias Ekholm scored the Predators' fifth and sixth goals for one minute.

As for Ovechkin, he became the seventh player in the league in terms of the number of goals on the road (333), but this achievement was unlikely to improve his mood after the third consecutive defeat of Washington. According to him, the team did not deserve such a result.

“We are too good to make such mistakes. We talked about this before the third period. We need to better control the puck. You saw that we lost it, and it cost us two points, ”the official site of the NHL quotes the captain.