The Rangers took revenge on the Capitals for defeat at the start of the season and continued the fight for getting into the NHL playoffs. At the Madison Square Garden home arena, the hosts sent four goals into the Braden Holtby goal, missing just one. The main characters were Russian hockey players, acting as leaders of their teams.

It is noteworthy that on the eve of this meeting, it was Washington that was considered the favorite. Todd Rirden’s wards had two victories in a row and led the Eastern Conference standings. Their rivals, on the other hand, suffered two defeats, one of which was a big one. The match with Tampa Bay ended with a result of 3: 9, with four pucks flew into the gates of hockey players from New York in the first 6 minutes 42 seconds. It is even more offensive that at that moment the place in the “frame” was occupied by the Russian Alexander Georgiev, who was subsequently urgently replaced by Henrik Lundqvist.

After such a fiasco, David Quinn's wards made certain conclusions and began to act stricter in defense. Of course, the Rangers defenses did not become impassable, but the life of Georgiev and Lundqvist was a bit easier. If Nikita Kucherov and the company 45 times checked the goalkeepers' vigilance, then “Florida” and “Washington” scored a total of 61 attempts. And this despite the fact that the “Panthers” takes third place in the league in the average number of shots on goal per game.

However, the focus was not on the defenders and guardians of the gates of the hosts, but on their newly minted leader. Only in the summer, Panarin joined the Rangers, but had already strengthened his status as the leader of the team. From the very start of the championship, he began to consistently bring benefits and gain points, and recently, he began to do this on an ongoing basis. So, before the battle with “Washington”, his productive series was 11 matches.

This meeting was no exception. The first period was an equal fight and without goals, but already in the debut of the second, the hosts went ahead. Ovechkin's partner in the link Tom Wilson at the end of the starting third earned a deletion, which was used by the Rangers. The combination with the transfer from right to left flank ended with Panarin's accurate wrist throw under Holtby's arm. It is all the more remarkable that at that moment Artemy was in the left circle of the face-off - Ovechkin's favorite place, of which he scored more than one goal in the majority.

However, he did not calm down on this. At the beginning of the third period, the careless actions of Dmitry Orlov cost his team one more removal, and Artemy again succeeded in implementing numerical superiority. This time, the Rangers striker was all alone in the mustache and closed the transfer to Kaapo Kakko without any problems.

Panarin scored a double, thanks to which he was not only recognized as the first star of the day in the NHL, but went to 11th place in the NHL scorers race. At the moment, he has 25 (11 goals + 14 assists) points - Ovechkin, Jack Aikel and Elias Petterson have the same points. Edmonton striker Leon Dreisatl 44 (16 + 28) is in the lead.

In addition, Panarin became the first Rangers hockey player in the past 11 years, who managed to score points in 12 or more matches in a row. The last time such a bar obeyed in the 2007/08 season to striker Scott Gomez, who remained productive for 13 consecutive meetings.

It is not surprising that after the final siren, most of the talk was about Panarin’s speech. So, the team mentor Quinn praised the success of the ward, and his partner Chris Krider admired his hockey skills.

“Oh, that's cool (watch Panarin play. - RT ). This is something special. His skills are something of a fantasy. Some of his actions make the guys on the bench look at each other with the words: “Did he really do that?” Crider quoted Newsday Sports.

However, the success of the Russians did not end there. As part of the Rangers, Pavel Buchnevich also came to the fore, having chalked up a goal and an assist. 23 seconds after Panarin's puck, he, along with Philip Heatil, left the rival’s defense out of work and then helped Brett Howden distinguish himself. Pavel was caught by the side, but cut out the most accurate pass on a patch. 21-year-old Canadian was not difficult to beat Holtby.

Ovi just laying the boom. 💥 pic.twitter.com/yRpmgxm1fj

- Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 21, 2019

Among the Russian leaders of Washington, only Kuznetsov managed to please his fans. With a score of 0: 3, he participated in the majority draw and scored the 10th goal of the season. Eugene was on the right flank, but did not give Ovechkin, and he checked the vigilance of Lundqvist. The Swede was not ready for such a development.

Kuznetsov scored in the fourth meeting in a row and finally moved away from the consequences of the cocaine scandal. This is evidenced not only by the athlete’s successful performances in November, but also by his return to social networks. So, after meeting with the Rangers, Eugene posted the first Instagram posts after the incident.

As for the captain of Washington, this match was a continuation of his not-so-bright series of appearances. If at the start of the season he looked extremely productive, then in November he faced serious difficulties. So, in ten meetings, Ovi scored only seven points, four of which - in the first three games.

It is even more offensive that in the first period he had an excellent opportunity to excel, but could not beat Lundqvist. Ovechkin was not covered on the nickle, but allowed the goalkeeper to save the team. The wrist throw was not the strongest, which Henrik was quite enough.

At the same time, Alexander was desperately trying to get himself, as he had repeatedly done in previous matches. He actively went into the selection, crashed into opponents, but could not achieve a serious effect. Nevertheless, the Russian is still remembered for two powerful power tricks. So, in the end, Howden suffered from his actions, and some time ago - Brendan Lemieux. Ovechkin, along with Wilson, knocked the Canadian down, but he was not from a timid dozen and started a fight with Tom.

In addition, Judge Furman South suffered from Ovechkin’s actions. The Russian hit the puck in the face of the referee, as a result of which he needed medical attention. Everything turned out with a broken lip and he was able to continue working