Achievement of Kaprizov

One of the most anticipated matches of the NHL game day for Russian fans took place at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, where two star Russian snipers met.

True, they approached this confrontation in different forms.

If Kirill Kaprizov only in January managed to ship six goals to his rivals, then Andrei Svechnikov was in a recession.

The last time he scored on December 31, and from that moment on, if he scored points, it was only as an assistant (0 + 3).

And this state of affairs did not please him.

And this time he could not correct the downed sight.

He only once disturbed Marc-Andre Fleury and extended the dry streak to eight meetings.

Yes, Kaprizov also hit the target not much more often (twice), but he managed not only to leave the opponent's goalkeeper out of work, but also once again write his name in the history of the league.

Thus, it took the Wild leader just 180 games to reach the mark of 100 goals in his NHL career.

Among active hockey players, only Alexander Ovechkin (167) and Patrick Laine (179) managed to do it faster.

At the same time, Kaprizov's anniversary puck turned out to be quite ordinary.

In the middle of the second period, Minnesota was in the majority and punished the opponent for indiscipline.

Mats Zuckarello and Joel Eriksson Ek did all the preparatory work, and the Russian only had to work on finishing moves.

With 26 goals, he climbed to tenth place in the Maurice Richard Trophy race and continued his correspondence dispute with Alexander Ovechkin for the title of the strongest Russian sniper.

The captain of "Washington" has four hits more.

However, Kaprizov's efforts did not help the Wild extend their unbeaten streak.

Over the next 18 minutes, the guests missed five times, after which there was no question of a comeback.

Through the efforts of Matt Boldy, they were able to slightly reduce the gap, but did not avoid a major defeat - 2:5.

And although Svechnikov failed to score himself, he still had a hand in the triumph of the Hurricanes.

It was he who twice acted as a carrier of shells and assisted defenders Brent Burns and Jaylen Chatfield.

Thanks to this, Andrei regained the title of the second scorer of the team (19 + 18).

The leader is Martin Necas (18 + 23).

Parade of assistants

At the same time, Svechnikov was far from the only Russian who chalked up two effective passes.

While Alexander Ovechkin unsuccessfully tried to get closer to Wayne Gretzky's record, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov helped Washington smash Arizona on the road.

The guests sent four unanswered goals to the gates of Karel Veimelka, which was watched by only 4.6 thousand local fans.

During the summer, the Coyotes could not reach an agreement with the Glendale City Council and were forced to move from the 18,000-strong Gila River Arena to a small venue in Tempe.

Without the participation of the Russians, only Sonny Milano managed to light his name on the scoreboard, while three other goals were the result of their active actions in the attack.

Powerful shots from Dmitry Orlov from the blue line allowed Tom Wilson and Dylan Strom to score, and towards the end of regular time, the latter scored a double.

Kuznetsov first dispersed the counterattack, and after an unsuccessful attempt by Markus Johansson, he gave a radio-controlled pass to a partner between two defenders.

Thus, Eugene reached the mark of 376 assists in his career and bypassed Dale Hunter in the list of the best assistants in Washington history.

Above him are Mike Gartner (392), Michal Pivonka (418), John Carlson (474), Alexander Ovechkin (652) and Niklas Beckström (750).

In addition to teammates from the Capitals, three other Russians did not leave the ice without scoring points.

Alexey Toropchenko and Pavel Buchnevich took part in the defeat of Nashville - the first scored the third goal in the regular season, and the second caught up with Braden Schenn in the list of the best passers of St. Louis.

Both have 23 assists, only Robert Thomas (30) has more.

The ability to create chances for partners was also demonstrated by the best Russian scorer of the championship, Nikita Kucherov.

It was his cross pass that ensured the development of the attack, which subsequently ended with an accurate hit by Brayden Point.

"Tampa Bay" managed to recoup from 1:3, but still did not get away from defeat in the confrontation with "Edmonton".

In the remaining time, the guests conceded twice and suffered a third defeat in 2023, while Andrei Vasilevsky failed to extend his unbeaten streak to five meetings. 

Extravaganza of Sorokin and damage to Bobrovsky

But if Vasilevsky's performance in the match with the Oilers can hardly be called successful (87.9% of reflected shots), then his compatriot almost single-handedly dragged the team.

In the Buffalo derby, Ilya Sorokin made 42 saves and was the main reason the Islanders were not defeated in regulation time.

The Russian did not allow Alex Taku to realize an impromptu shootout, outplayed Jack Quinn, Casey Mittelstadt and Rasmus Dalin in close combat and parried all four shots of one of the best snipers of the season Teige Thompson.

But even this was not enough to win.

Regular time ended with a score of 2:2, and in overtime his partners failed again, and in the debut itself.

Already in the 12th second, Dylan Cozens took advantage of the defender's confusion, ran into the gap and upset the goalkeeper for the third time. 

Another bright performance pleased and Ilya Samsonov.

In the confrontation with Winnipeg, the Toronto goalkeeper saved 97.4% of shots (37 of 38) and was deservedly recognized as the second star.

And in this he was helped by teammates, who, although they allowed opponents a lot, regularly punished them themselves.

The Maple Leafs won 4-1 and Auston Matthews scored a double for the second time this season.

Perhaps Sergei Bobrovsky, who has recently demonstrated his usual level, would have been able to express himself brightly, but he did not have such an opportunity.

The two-time winner of the Vezina Trophy appeared on the ice from the first minutes, but already at the 121st second he was replaced by Alex Lyon.

In one of the episodes, the goalkeeper unsuccessfully reached for the puck and was injured.

The timing of his recovery is unknown.