Vasilevsky's unique achievement and Kucherov's transfer: how Tampa beat Carolina and reached the Stanley Cup semifinals

The reigning Stanley Cup winner Tampa Bay Lightning continues their strong move towards title defense.

In the fifth match of the second round of the playoffs, the away team defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 2-0 and advanced to the semifinals of the tournament.

One of the main creators of this victory was the Russian goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevsky.

And his compatriot Nikita Kucherov scored an assist.

From the first minutes of the meeting, the Karolina hockey players, driven by their native stands, raised the pace of the game, taking control of what was happening on the ice into their own hands.

This is not surprising, because for them the continuation of the struggle in the playoffs was at stake.

However, the guests were faced with an equally important task, and they tried not to let the hosts go.

Therefore, the goalkeepers of both teams did not remain without work, and Vasilevsky had to reflect several dangerous shots at once in the first period. But one of the most spectacular episodes took place at the beginning of the second 20-minute, when the Hurricenz hockey players, who were in the minority, organized a two-on-one attack after Kucherov's mistake. Forward Vincent Trochek struck a touchdown into the corner of the Russian's goal, but he managed to react and, moving from the right bar to the left, caught the puck.

“Yes, sometimes there are some mistakes, and there was one of them.

But I tried to play, as usual in such situations, expecting a transverse transfer to the other post, to move as quickly as possible to the same corner.

There Trocek really got a good shot.

I just tried to react to him.

I don't even remember how I managed to make a save there - the puck either hit a trap, or hit the shield.

And then after that we scored a save.

This is how it turns out that we help each other, ”Vasilevsky paid tribute to his teammates.

Immediately after that, John Cooper's wards still managed to realize the majority and open an account.

This time Kucherov gave the puck to Alex Killbourne, who cleverly left the Carolina defenders and passed a pass to Braden Point, who ended the attack.

After that, “Tampa” finally seized the initiative and was marked by several more dangerous episodes, and even one more abandoned puck.

Unfortunately for their fans, the goal was recorded after the siren for the break, and the goal was not awarded.

This only further provoked the guests, who literally sat on the gates of Alex Nedelkovich.

However, the skill of the Carolina goalkeeper did not save the team from defeat.

In the 50th minute, the final score was set by the efforts of Ross Colton.

In total, Vasilevsky reflected 29 shots on his own goal and was recognized as the first star of the match.

The second and third goals were scored by Point and Colton.

The Russian belongs to another unique achievement.

He became the first goalkeeper in Stanley Cup history to play dry in three decisive playoff games.

The first shutout was issued in the 2019/20 season finale, when the Lightning defeated the Dallas Stars.

The second - in the sixth match of the first round of the current playoffs.

It is worth noting that this "cracker" became Vasilevsky's third in the playoffs in his entire career in the NHL.

Point noted the importance of the goalkeeper for the team.

“He has been helping us out all year.

The majority turned out to be crumpled.

The rival covered us, pressed hard.

But we got one chance, which we took advantage of.

And Vasya played another great game, ”Ponta quotes the official website of the NHL.

As for Kucherov, thanks to another point he earned, he strengthened his position in the playoff scorers race.

He currently has 18 points, four less than Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnyak.

In addition, the forward climbed to fifth place in the list of the most productive Russian hockey players in the Stanley Cup, catching up with Pavel Datsyuk with 113 points.

Recall that the leader in this indicator is Sergey Fedorov (176 points).

In addition, it is necessary to note the contribution to the victory of the defensive line of the team from Florida and, in particular, Mikhail Sergachev.

In total, the hockey players blocked 22 shots, five of them were on the account of the Russian defender.

Thanks to this triumph, "Tampa" brought the score in the series to 4: 1.

In the Stanley Cup semi-finals, she will face the winner of the Boston Bruins - New York Islanders.

Summing up the results of the second round, Cooper admitted that the current rally is not easy for him.

However, according to him, his players managed to reach the semifinals thanks to experience.

“I was lucky to be a coach in several playoffs, but two series this year were the hardest we have had.

It took a lot of work for us to get out of this division, ”Cooper summed up.