Mikheev's double, Kaprizov's record and Ovechkin's bad luck: how Russians perform in the NHL

Successful work of Kaprizov on a penny

Minnesota is gradually gaining momentum after a disastrous start to the season.

The victory over Ottawa was already the third for her in the last four matches.

It is gratifying that one of the main characters and the third star of the confrontation was Kirill Kaprizov, who did not score points in the two previous meetings.

In Canada, he joined the game at the right time.

The guests conceded in the fourth minute, allowing Alex Debrinkat to open the scoring.

However, after only three minutes they managed to recoup in the majority.

Moreover, the rules in this episode were violated by another Russian Artyom Zub.

Kaprizov took part in a productive combination on the left edge, which ended with a long-range throw by Mats Zuccarello.

And shortly before the siren for a break, Kirill scored on his own and brought the team forward.

The striker did a good job on the penny and put his stick under his partner's throw in time, winning the fight against Eric Brennström.

Thus, he overcame the mark of 10 points in the regular championship (5 + 5).

Also, a native of the Kemerovo region played the 49th match in the NHL, in which he scored more points.

Since the 2020/21 season, when he made his league debut, only four have led him in this indicator: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Auston Matthews and Mikko Rantanen.

Moreover, the striker set a new club record.

He was the fastest player in Minnesota to reach 50 powerplay points in the NHL.

It took him only 143 matches to do this.

Well, the “Wild” eventually kept the winning score largely thanks to the confident actions at the last frontier of the experienced Marc-Andre Fleury, who repeatedly rescued his partners and made 27 saves.

Mikheev's debut goals of the season

Things were even worse for Vancouver, which at the start had issued a series of seven defeats in a row and dropped to the bottom of the Western Conference standings.

It was possible to interrupt the unsuccessful series in the away confrontation with Seattle - 5:4.

And at the "Climate Pledge Arena" the main characters also became the Russians Andrey Mikheev and Andrey Kuzmenko, who joined the Canucks in the summer and in the reporting meeting, finally showed the goods in person.

Already in the fifth minute, the score was opened by the first one, which had not scored before this season.

The striker finished off the puck into the net after saving Martin Jones.

And his compatriot in this episode performed an assist.

At the end of the starting 20-minutes, the guests' fans fell into despair again, as the opponent turned the match upside down, scoring twice.

However, the opponents did not have time to return to the ice, as the wards of Bruce Boudreau earned the majority, and Mikheev, who scored a double, converted it with an accurate click from the right face-off circle.

And ten minutes later, Kuzmenko repeated his achievement.

After that, to bring the matter to victory for an outsider was a matter of technique.

By the way, for the team's mentor, it turned out to be the 600th anniversary in the NHL.

And Mikheev was naturally recognized as the first star of the game.

Useful play by Barabanov in the majority

Gradually, Alexander Barabanov, along with San Jose, is gaining momentum.

In the match with Philadelphia, he scored the debut point of the season and helped the team win, and in the confrontation with Toronto, he helped Logan Couture score twice and also contributed to the success - 4:3.

Actually the game began with his excellent transfer to the course partner.

In turn, Matt Nieto threw Couture into the gap and he was ahead of the gaping defender.

It was only the 26th second of the meeting.

However, the Maple Leafs bounced back quickly thanks to an accurate shot from David Kempf.

But at the start of the second period they were let down by indiscipline.

T.J. Brody and Pierre Engvall managed to get sent off at the same time, and the opponents got the opportunity to play five on three.

Barabanov also entered the majority brigade.

And in less than a minute, the Russian neat transfer from the left circle led Couture to the empty net.

By the way, for the Canadian, this goal was the 300th in the NHL.

And soon Timo Mayer completely brought San Jose ahead.

However, the Toronto hockey players did not give up and managed to restore the status quo.

Kaapo Kähkönen was forced to capitulate by Mitchell Marner and Auston Matthews.

But in overtime, the hosts set the winning point.

Eric Karlsson, after the selection in his zone, ran to a rendezvous with the goalkeeper, confidently outplayed him and brought the Sharks their first home victory in the current regular season.

Enchanted gate for Ovechkin

But Alexander Ovechkin continues to pursue failures.

Surprisingly, at the start of the current season, Russian Rocket scored in just two matches.

After the goal against New Jersey, it seemed that the striker felt confident in himself, but in the away meeting with Dallas he was frankly not lucky.

At the same time, the veteran did everything to score another goal in the NHL.

He spent more time on the ice than his partners (almost 25 minutes) and became the best in both teams in terms of the number of shots (seven).

However, in two episodes, after his snaps, the crossbar played on the side of the Stars.

Particularly offensive was the second moment at the very end of the meeting.

The forward was sure that the puck would be in the net, and even happily raised his hands, but she miraculously missed the target.

In other episodes, the rivals were rescued by Jake Ettinger.

The American eventually issued a shutout, making 27 saves.

Dallas did not miss their chances.

Shortly before the first break, Jason Robertson caught Darcy Kemper off guard with a mid-range shot.

And ten minutes before the final siren, Yoel Kiviranta caught Evgeny Kuznetsov on an unsuccessful exit from the defense and put an end to the minority.