Kuzmenko scored the first hat-trick in the NHL

The game of the Russian newcomer Vancouver Andrey Kuzmenko in the match with Anaheim (8:5) caused incredible delight among fans and hockey experts.

The 26-year-old striker spent 15 minutes on the ice, scored three goals and made an assist.

And all three goals fit in a segment of 22 minutes.

The Russian was recognized as the first star of the NHL game day.

The meeting in Vancouver as a whole turned out to be spectacular and interesting.

Teams scored 13 goals for two, and Elias Petterson earned five points at once.

He assisted Kuzmenko in all his goals, scored himself and helped Bo Horvath in this.

As for the Russian, he made only three shots on goal per game - and each of them reached the goal.

Twice Andrei successfully corrected the puck, taking advantageous positions at the gate, and in the episode with the third goal, he burst into the opponent's zone at speed and flashed John Gibson with a wrist shot.

After the game, Kuzmenko looked slightly stunned.

The newcomer said that he is gradually gaining confidence in new conditions for himself.

“Adapted to the rules, venues.

The most important thing is that we won, because we really need victories now, ”said the Russian.

He also admitted that he experienced an indescribable feeling when, after the third puck, the entire stadium began to chant his name.

“I was very happy at that moment,” said the hockey player.

Andrei became the fourth Russian in the Canucks to score a hat-trick.

Pavel Bure did it before him (9 times), Alexander Mogilny (4) and Igor Larionov (2).

In addition, this is only the fourth time in the history of the club over the past 20 years, when a player has scored three times in one period.

Previously, only Bo Horvath, Mikael Samuelsson and Markus Näslund could boast of such an achievement.

Ovechkin equals Howe's record

Alexander Ovechkin is already in his 18th season in the NHL, and in almost every match he overwrites certain records and achievements of the league.

However, the milestone that he reached in the reporting meeting of "Washington" with "Detroit" (1:3) stands apart.

The Russian scored the 786th puck, thanks to which he caught up with the legend of world hockey Gordie Howe in goals for one team.

It is symbolic that this happened precisely in a meeting with the Red Wings, where the great Canadian spent most of his career.

And before Howe's scorer record, Alexander had only 15 goals left.

On the eve of the match, a ceremony was held at Little Caesars Arena dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the Wings winning the Stanley Cup.

Many stars of the team took part in it, including Igor Larionov and Vladimir Konstantinov.

Also present at the arena was Howe's son Mark, who met with Ovechkin and wished him continued success.

They shook hands in the sub-tribune room after the pre-match rollout.

"Good luck.

Keep going, don't stop," Howe Jr. told the Russian.

The captain of "Washington" did not disappoint and opened the scoring in the middle of the second period.

He received the puck from Evgeny Kuznetsov, stopped it with his left skate, managed to correct it with a stick and upset the goalkeeper of the owners, Villa Husso, with a wrist throw into the far corner.

“Yes, this is obviously a significant event.

I've been playing for Washington all my career.

I repeated the record of the legend, and this is a very large number (of goals) and a very cool achievement, ”Ovechkin commented on his next success after the match.

Mark Howe, in turn, called the Russian a phenomenal hockey player.

In his opinion, Alexander does not play better than Gordy, but he can be considered a standard scorer.

“His shots are as good as anyone else.

Very few people have this skill.

As soon as they start to give up, their shots already fall directly on the goalkeeper.

And he still sends pucks into the corner.

It's obvious that he loves his job.

Sometimes people are content with money.

But not him.

It is clear that he is determined.

He wants to win.

Damn good scorer,” said the NHL Hall of Famer.

But one Ovechkin puck was not enough for Washington to win.

The Red Wings evened the score before the end of the second period, and in the third they sent two more unanswered goals into the opponent's goal.

This is the third consecutive defeat of the wards of Peter Laviolette.

Vasilevsky made 52 rescues

Tampa Bay goaltender Andrey Vasilevsky was named the first star of the game with the Carolinas, despite the fact that his team lost 3-4 in the shootout.

The Russian goalie conceded three goals but made 52 saves in 65 minutes of net playing time.

Thus, for the second time in his career, he overcame the mark of 50 reflected shots.

The Russian record is 54 saves, which he made in March 2019 in a game with Washington.

In the history of Tampa, not a single goalkeeper has made more than fifty saves in two meetings, but in general in the NHL there are only four of those active: Semyon Varlamov (4 times), John Gibson (3), Mike Smith (3) and Robin Lehner (2 ).

Of course, such an active work of the goalkeeper in the match speaks of significant failures in the team's defense.

Probably affected by the loss of defender Victor Hedman, who was injured and missed two games already.

As teammate Ian Cole noted, Tampa should help their goaltender more and not allow the opponent to bombard him with shots.

A similar opinion was expressed by Vladislav Namestnikov.

“His game was incredible, as in every match.

Everything depends on us.

We need to defend better and not let other teams make a lot of shots, ”said the Russian about Vasilevsky’s game.

A prominent role in the match was played by Nikita Kucherov, who distinguished himself at the end of the second period.

He extended his goal streak to five matches, and the Russian has already scored points in nine meetings in a row.

He has 16 of them (5 + 11).