Goal and two passes in 11 minutes: how Panarin turned the game against Washington and overshadowed Ovechkin

Hockey players of the New York Rangers Artemy Panarin and Ilya Shesterkin became the protagonists of the match with the Washington Capitals in the regular season of the National Hockey League.

They helped their team to a 5-2 victory and were voted first and second star of the game thanks to their third-period comeback.

Three days before, the teams had already met under the arches of Capital One Arena and had a super-productive game.

The guests were able to score four goals in the final 20-minute, but did not escape the defeat with a score of 5: 4.

For the Rangers, this setback was particularly unpleasant in light of the Stanley Cup competition.

Despite the presence of several stars in the squad, the New Yorkers are in sixth place in their division and are at risk of not making the playoffs.

With only a month and a half left until the end of the regular season, the return game against Washington was very important for Panarin's team.

However, the match at Madison Square Garden did not start at all the way the hosts wanted.

Less than five minutes after the starting throw-in, two goals were at the gate of Shesterkin.

First, T.J. Oshie converted the majority, and after 118 seconds Nick Dowd completed the counterattack, pushing the puck alongside the Russian goalkeeper who had won all previous Capitals games this season.

The Rangers were able to play one goal before the end of the first period, and Dmitry Orlov's mistake helped them in this.

The defender on the alien blue line tried to beat Philip Khytil, but lost the puck and allowed the Czech to escape to the goal.

Vitek Vanechek could not stop his compatriot.

The guests did not manage to return the advantage to two goals.

The first link, in which Yevgeny Kuznetsov joined Osh and Alexander Ovechkin, did not manage to upset Shesterkin again.

This was a very bad signal for the team - in March, Washington suffered only two defeats, but it was in those games that the Russian attackers did not make any effective actions.

After a calm second period, in which 16 shots from both teams did not translate into goals, it was time for Panarin to save the match.

In the fifth minute of the final segment, he attracted the attention of three Washington players, and he himself gave the puck to Ryan Strome, who then allowed Kaapo Kakko to level the score.

Panarin made another pass two minutes later, deciding to entrust the puck to defender Adam Fox.

He was not taken aback and after a solo passage on the starboard side brought the Rangers ahead, gaining 15th point in the last eight matches.

Panarin has already made 86 assists in 93 appearances for New York, something that even Wayne Gretzky did not manage after his transfer to the club.

For the Russian, the path is now open to achieving the no less great Mark Messier, who assisted partners 93 times in the first 100 games for the club.

Shortly before the end of the match, Panarin scored himself.

He waited for the transfer from someone else's blue line and calmly implemented a one-on-one exit.

In the last 11 minutes of the match, he not only surpassed Ovechkin in the ranking of the best Russian scorers of the season, but also became the first among his compatriots, being higher than Pavel Buchnevich.

True, the Rangers striker quickly returned Panarin to second place and scored 32nd point in the season with his goal into an empty net.

Shesterkin finished the match with 30 saves and won the third out of three possible victories over Washington this season.

If Panarin was eventually recognized as the best player of the match, then the Russian goalkeeper received the status of the second star.

“I just tried to do my job.

Yes, we conceded two quick goals at the beginning of the match, but until the very last moment I believed in the team and tried to do my best.

The guys blocked a lot of shots (13. -

) and converted their chances, so we won.

All great, ”Shesterkin said after the match.

Ovechkin, Kuznetsov and Orlov finished the meeting with a utility score of "-2".

Both strikers had five points each in the last three matches, but both series ended.

However, this defeat did not become catastrophic for Washington, since the team had practically secured a place in the playoffs.

The Rangers are still five points from the playoff zone.