“It was a crazy day”: how Tarasenko scored the first goal for the Rangers, and Malkin scored the 1200th point in the NHL

Tarasenko scored in the first match for the Rangers

The debut match of Vladimir Tarasenko for the Rangers was the best for him.

The Russian, who was traded from St. Louis only on February 9, scored the puck already in the third minute of a home meeting with Seattle.

And none other than Artemy Panarin helped him in this with a chic transfer.

Thus, the expectations from a bunch of two old comrades turned into reality faster than one could imagine.

It all started with an inaccurate pass of the guests in the middle zone.

Panarin picked up the puck from the starboard side, got to the gate without any problems and shot it to the nickel.

Tarasenko had only to correct the puck into the net, which he did.

The goal came in just 2 minutes 49 seconds from the start of the meeting, and thanks to this, the Rangers rookie burst into club history on the move.

Wladimir became only the fourth player to score within three minutes of his debut for the Rangers.

Only Norm Lowe did it faster in 1950 (1 minute), Lane Lambert in 1986 (2 minutes 28 seconds) and Mike Ellison in 1980 (2 minutes 44 seconds).

“I don't think I've ever experienced this in my life.

I was traded for the first time in the NHL... I lived for 11 years in the same city.

The guys gave us a very warm welcome.

Everyone here has been very kind to us.

It was a crazy day, ”said the Russian after the match.

He also noted that he expected an assist from Panarin or Miki Zibanejad and tried to be ready for it.

“I think sometimes we were too zealous.

We like to play with each other.

There were many emotions.

Sometimes you try too hard,” admitted Vladimir.

The 31-year-old hockey player was recognized as the first star not only of the reporting match, but of the entire game day in the NHL.

The head coach of the New Yorkers, Gerard Gallan, also highly appreciated the debut of the Russian striker.

“When I saw him this morning, he was very excited.

Score a goal on the second shift is a great way to start a career with the Rangers.

He is a great player and will help our team,” the Canadian specialist emphasized after the match.

And the fans of the team were imbued with the location of the striker even before the start of the game.

During the announcement of the line-ups, the stands of the crowded Madison Square Garden stadium gave Tarasenko a loud ovation and chanted his name.

The Russian did not even expect such a reception and subsequently admitted: at first he decided that he had misheard.

“It was amazing,” said the hockey player.

Malkin overtook Ovechkin

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin, following Alexander Ovechkin, continues to rewrite NHL statistics with his active actions.

A couple of days ago, he entered the top 50 assistants in the history of the league, and in the match with Anaheim he made two assists and scored the 1200th point in his overseas career.

First, in the 35th minute, Malkin brought Pierre-Olivier Joseph into a good position for a shot, and in the middle of the third period he assisted Brian Rust, seeing him on the spot.

As a result, his team confidently won (6:3), and the Russian was recognized as the second star of the meeting.

In the list of the best scorers of the current regular season, he is on a par with Ovechkin and Panarin - all have 54 points.

But much more significant is the mark of 1200 points for performance.

Malkin became only the third player in the history of the Penguins, to whom she submitted, after Sidney Crosby (1471) and Mario Lemieux (1723).

At the same time, in the NHL, in addition to Evgeny, there are only three hockey players who have scored 1200 points.

This, of course, is Ovechkin, the already mentioned Crosby and Patrick Kane from Chicago.

In total, 51 athletes crossed this milestone.

In the list of the best scorers in the history of the league, the Russian shares 50th place with Dino Sissarelli, who scored 1200 (608 + 592) points in 1232 games.

Malkin, on the other hand, took 1032 meetings to conquer an important mark.

Interestingly, among the current hockey players in the league, only Crosby got to this bar faster - in 927 games.

And he beat the captain of "Washington" by 40 matches!

In Pittsburgh, Malkin's achievement, of course, did not go unnoticed.

"Gino is a machine!"

reads the admiring post on social media.

At the same time, according to Crosby, the striker could have reached an important mark much earlier, if not for several serious injuries.

Well, the hero of the evening is not going to stop there.

36-year-old hockey player expects to reach the mark of 1500 points.

“I have had a few serious injuries in my career, but again, 1200 is a great number.

I mean life is good.

I don't want to think about how many points I could score without injury.

I have three more years ahead of me.

Maybe when I finish my career, I will have 1500 points.

This is also a good figure," Malkin said.