Radulov's winning goal, saving from Khudobin and Varlamov's "cracker": how the Russians became the main stars of the NHL playing day

38 saves by Khudobin and a goal plus a pass by Radulov

The Dallas Stars defeated the Colorado Avalanche in their second straight NHL playoff quarterfinal game. Losing 0-2 by the middle of the second period, they managed to score four goals in less than 10 minutes and take over. Russian hockey players also took a direct part in the victory.

The start of the match was very difficult for Dallas. "Colorado" fell into a real avalanche on the gate of Anton Khudobin. The puck flew in his direction 20 times, and only Nathan McKinnon struck seven shots - more than all opponents in the same time. It was he who opened the account in the majority. The puck passed over the goalkeeper's shoulder, and he could hardly be blamed for this goal.

McKinnon also helped double the lead in the second twenty minutes, assisting Mikko Rantanen. Colorado again took advantage of the numerical advantage and showed such confidence that it was difficult for Dallas to count on anything.

However, literally right there, Avalanche broke the rules twice, and Joe Pavelski and Radek Faxa took advantage of the “gifts” of Samuel Girard and Ian Cole in turn, restoring parity in the match. Both goals were scored by the Russians - Alexander Radulov and Denis Guryanov helped their teammates.

This development of events knocked the mood of "Colorado". This was used by Jamie Benn, who gave the transfer to Radulov. But the striker closed the pass not with a stick, but with his shoulder. Such an amazing ricochet brought Dallas ahead and, as it turned out later, brought victory.

Until the end of the second period, the Stars also scored a goal by Isa Lindell, who, after an unrealized majority of Avalanche, completed a counterattack. In the final third, Colorado already had to artificially create a numerical advantage in order to recoup, but the departure of Pavel Franzouz to the bench only led to Jamie Oleksiak's goal in an empty net.

Dallas have won four straight games in a first-round streak with the Calgary Flames. The two main stars of the second meeting with “Colorado” were the Russians - Anton Khudobin, who made 38 saves, and Alexander Radulov, who took 17th place among Russians in history in terms of points scored in the playoffs.

The second "rusk" Varlamov and "-2" Provorov

While Dallas have won their second victory in the conference semifinals, the New York Islanders have just started their streak with the Philadelphia Flyers. Barry Trotz's men confidently won the first match with the same score as the fifth game with the Washington Capitals - 4: 0.

New Yorkers opened an account in the seventh minute. 37-year-old defender Andy Green landed a powerful shot from the blue line that ended up winning. He has not thrown into the playoffs for over ten years, and the last time he was upset was “Philadelphia”.

Although the Flyers have an excellent selection of performers, they had no one to score this evening. The role and reliable play of Semyon Varlamov played a role. The Russian goalkeeper never wavered in the second period, in which the opponent became more active and began to bother him more and more.

The Flyers continued their assault in the final dvadtsatiminutke, however, the pucks flew into their gates only. Jean-Gabriel Pajot, Anders Lee and Devon Toews have brought the score to crushing, despite the fact that in the last 20 minutes, the Islanders have made only seven shots on goal. Philadelphia defender Ivan Provorov finished the game with a -2 rating.

The first star of the match was Varlamov. He made 29 saves and made a clean sheet in the Stanley Cup for the second time in a row. In the history of the Islanders, no goalkeeper has ever succeeded. The Russian's dry run is now 136 minutes and 20 seconds. Billy Smith's club record, set back in 1980, is only 40 seconds away.

“I don’t think I have achieved anything special at the moment. I just play my hockey. Yes, now I have played zero two times in a row, but the guys in front of me are playing really well. Actually, I have already forgotten this match and am waiting for the next one. At the moment, shutouts don't matter. This is the playoffs. The most important thing for me is to get a victory and get ready for the next match, ”Varlamov said after the game.

At the moment, it is the Russian who can be called the most reliable goalkeeper in the NHL. He ranks second in both the average number of goals conceded and the percentage of reflected shots. For such statistics, Varlamov must first of all thank the team, which not only defends with high quality, but also gave them only one majority for the entire first game with the Flyers.