“Salvation of the Year” by Varlamov, 45 saves by Khudobin and 15th Svechnikov puck: Russian hockey players spent a shock night in the NHL

27 saves of Varlamov and decisive salvation in a series of shootouts

The reporting game day turned out to be eventful for Russian hockey players, but perhaps the main characters were goalkeepers, Semyon Varlamov and Anton Khudobin. The first helped the New York Islanders to beat the Boston Bruins in a shootout. A native of Samara made 27 saves, one of which turned out to be almost unbelievable.

In the second period, Varlamov showed miracles of reaction and pulled the puck out of the far corner after clicking Anders Bjork from a killer distance. Even the striker himself after the game called this salvation “excellent”. And in the shoot-out series, Simon also coped with the throw of Brad Marchand and brought the team victory.

It is not surprising that it was the Russian goalkeeper who was recognized as the first star of the match, and the Islanders head coach Barry Trotz did not hide his admiration for the actions of the ward.

“In the second period, Varlamov made a cool rescue. That was very cool. Absolutely, this is the save of the year. After such a salvation, we received a certain impetus, ”the NHL press service quotes Trotz.

Semyon himself modestly noted that it was important for the team to rehabilitate themselves in front of the fans after eight goals from Nashville in the previous match of the regular season.

Two points of Radulov for performance and second star Sergachev

But even brighter evening was given by Dallas goalkeeper Anton Khudobin, who made 45 saves in the match against Tampa Bay. However, this did not help him to receive at least any nomination from the NHL. But the goalkeeper received absolute recognition from the partners. For example, Tyler Segin, the author of the winning puck in overtime, called Anton “the first, second and third star”.

“Did we play well today? Not. But at the same time, we were able to find a way to win, which is the most important. Tampa had many dangerous moments, but it is for this that I get paid. I am doing my job, the other guys are doing theirs. When you play with such a creative team like Tampa, sometimes such matches will happen, ”Khudobin quoted Dallas News.

At the same time, Lightning defender Mikhail Sergachev, who scored two points for the performance (1 + 1), was named the second star. A goal and a transfer was also noted by the forward of “Dallas” Alexander Radulov. It was he who opened the account already in the fifth minute, having realized the majority. But the hosts responded with three of their washers. Nevertheless, the Stars managed to reduce the backlog in the account to a minimum, and five minutes before the end of normal time and even the score.

And in overtime, the victory was brought to the guests by Segin, an effective transfer to which Radulov gave exactly. In this episode, Andrei Vasilevsky played in the worst way - he did not have the most successful match and managed to reflect only 16 shots from 20.

Puck Namestnikova in the minority and the sixth goal of Anisimov

In another meeting, Ottawa defender Vladislav Namestnikov managed to hit the Nashville goal in the minority. At the beginning of the second period, the Russian received a transmission from a partner, entered the zone and, from an average distance, launched a throw to the far corner. This helped the Senators lead the bill.

And shortly before the second break, another Russian Ottawa legionnaire Artyom Anisimov distinguished himself. This goal was for him the sixth of the season. However, all the efforts of the Russians did not help Senators win in the main time. “Nashville” conceded - 1: 4, but did not give up and in the final period the score was equalized. However, in overtime, Anthony Ducler still brought victory to the team of Anisimov and Namestnikov.

Vorobyov's debut goal and defeat from the Russians

The Russian hockey players of Philadelphia Mikhail Vorobyov and Ivan Provorov also managed to distinguish themselves. “Flyers” unexpectedly defeated the “Buffalo” - 6: 1, fighting for getting into the playoff zone, and domestic legionnaires took a direct part in the overthrow of the opponent, and Vorobyov opened the scoring and marked his debut puck in the season.

True, the goal of Michael in many ways turned out to be funny. In the middle of the first period, he threw the puck on the patch from the starboard side, and the opponent unsuccessfully set up the club and disoriented his own goalkeeper. Provorov realized the most powerful throw from an average distance.

Achieving Svechnikov and the Colorado comeback

Andrei Svechnikov, one of the best Russian NHL scorers of the current season, was not left without a performance score. Moreover, the striker, with his accurate throw, helped Carolina make an impressive comeback in the match against Colorado. The first two periods ended without goals, and at the beginning of the third the hosts took the lead.

However, three minutes before the final siren, Svechnikov equalized the score, and then the Hurricanes pulled out a victory. For Andrei, this puck was already the 15th of the season. In the list of the best snipers from Russia, he is second only to Alexander Ovechkin (21) and Artemy Panarin (20). And in the scoring race, Svechnikov (36 points for performance) caught up with Nikita Kucherov and approached Panarin (43).