Reaching Samsonov, Ovechkin’s 346th goal and two passes by Gusev: how Washington defeated New Jersey in the NHL on the road

The next game day of the regular championship of the National Hockey League (NHL) was marked by a large number of productive meetings. One of them was a match in which the New Jersey Devils hosted the Washington Capitals. Active actions in it marked the Russians. Forward Alexander Ovechkin and defender Dmitry Orlov earned three points for two and helped his team win with a score of 6: 3.

Effective actions are expected from the captain of the metropolitan team in each game, so even a short period without earned points causes excitement among the fans. However, this time he managed to interrupt the three-match goalless series. In addition, the meeting in New Jersey became the 900th, in which Ovechkin went on the ice with striker Niklas Beckstrom as part of Washington.

The match began with an unpleasant episode for the guests. In the fourth minute after a cross from the New Jersey striker Kyle Palmieri Orlov sent the puck into his own goal, which goalkeeper Ilya Samsonov failed to react to. Then followed a long siege of the last frontier of the hosts, but Mackenzie Blackwood was impenetrable.

Only in the 19th minute did the Capitals equalize. Ovechkin scored the puck with a spectacular wrist throw to the right after passing Beckstrom. A minute later, the Swede doubled the advantage of the guests.

At the beginning of the second period, the guests for some time lost their vigilance and missed a counterattack, the main characters of which were Blake Coleman and Nikita Gusev. Looking ahead, we note that the Russian striker was the only hockey player in the “New Jersey”, who completed the meeting with a positive indicator of utility (+1).

After 15 minutes, one of the key episodes of the match followed. Ovechkin, Beckstrom and Orlov played the “triangle” with one touch, and the Capitals again stepped forward. This so enraged the team that on the courage they scored three more goals in a row, bringing the score to a crushing one. The authors of the goals were John Carlson, Jonas Zigenthaler and Richard Panik.

The owners of the ice managed to play only one puck. The final score at the very end of the match was set by Miles Wood, and Gusev became one of his assistants.

The current goal for Ovechkin is the 346th in the away matches of the NHL. According to this indicator, he takes the sixth place, which he shares with a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, the famous Canadian center forward Marcel Dionne. With 402 goals, Wayne Gretzky leads the list.

At the moment, the Russian takes third place in the list of the best snipers, having 22 goals in his asset. The leader of the race is still the striker of the Boston Bruins David Pastrniak. He has 28 goals.

As for Bekstrom, in his 900th match with Ovechkin he scored the 900th point in his career. Sharing his impressions of his achievement, the Swede paid tribute to his teammate.

"It's really cool. Frankly, I did not hope for such a result, but sometimes this happens. It’s cool to be part of this club for so long. I was lucky to play with such a great hockey player like Alex, so you need to enjoy every moment, ”quoted the Beckstrom Washington Post.

It is worth noting the achievement of the “Washington” goalkeeper Samsonov, in the game with “New Jersey” reflected 24 shots from 27. He became the second goalkeeper in the history of the NHL, who won in the first seven away matches in a row. Before him, this result obeyed only the St. Louis Blues hockey player Brent Johnson. In addition, at the moment he takes the first place among beginners in the percentage of saves and the average indicator of missed goals.

Washington head coach Todd Rirden was pleased with the game of his wards.

“We had the opportunity to devote time to practicing various aspects of our game. I liked the beginning: although we missed the first, we had a lot of good moments in the first period, and the guys did not give up. Then, in the course of the meeting, it brought us fruit, ”the NHL official quotes the mentor.

On December 22, Washington will host Tampa Bay Lightning on its ice.

“We managed to earn two points in a match with a young and hardworking team, and now we are returning home to get enough sleep and prepare to meet fresh Tampa,” Rirden added.