Against the background of the exchange of Orlov: how Svechnikov designed an assistant double, and Samsonov stopped Kaprizov in the NHL

Svechnikov's assistant talent

For Andrei Svechnikov, the current championship is extremely ambiguous.

On the one hand, by the end of February, he had already managed to “shoot” more than 50 points, thanks to which he not only took third place in the list of the best scorers of the Carolinas, but was also preparing to update his personal record in the NHL for this indicator.

On the other hand, he still cannot reach the grandmaster schedule with one score per game, and he demonstrates sniper skills on special occasions.

A couple of days ago, the Russian finally interrupted a series of 19 “dry” matches, but in the next one he again did not score with abandoned washers.

True, even this did not prevent Svechnikov from taking second place in the list of the main stars of the meeting.

The Hurricanes forward twice assisted partners and became one of the creators of a major victory over the Senators (4: 0).

First, he took part in a combination that ended with an accurate hit by Seth Jarvis, and then rolled the puck under the throw to Martin Nechas.

The Russian for the sixth time in the season chalked up two assists and helped the team continue the fight for the President's Cup, which she had never received before.

At the moment, the Carolinas are in second place in the league table with 86 points, and second only to Boston (93).

At the same time, Svechnikov could also complete an assistant hat-trick.

Initially, a pass was also recorded on him in the episode with the goal of Brent Burns, which was even announced by the announcer at the PNC Arena in Raleigh.

But subsequently the league revised its decision and ruled that the Canadian scored without anyone's power.

It's a pity, because in this case, Andrei not only reached the mark of 52 points, but also caught up with the same Nechas in the list of the Hurricanes' top scorers.

Provorov's goal and Georgiev's successful streak

Two other Russian legionnaires also made a significant contribution to the success of their team.

Valery Nichushkin followed the example of Svechnikov and again acted as a "carrier of shells" for the main star of "Colorado".

Already in the debut of the match with Winnipeg, he took part in organizing a lightning-fast counterattack and an elegant touchdown brought Nathan McKinnon to a rendezvous with Connor Hellebike.

The leader of the current owners of the Stanley Cup did not blunder and easily converted an impromptu bullet.

And although the Jets restored parity three minutes later, the Avalanche failed to impose a fight.

And largely thanks to the confident play of Alexander Georgiev.

Although he could not prevent Mason Appleton from distinguishing himself, he was subsequently faultless and made a total of 26 saves.

Kyle Connor and Kevin Stenlund suffered the most with four shots each, but Nikolai Ehlers should be the most offensive of all.

He attacked almost point-blank, but the goalkeeper reacted and averted the threat.

Thus, Georgiev extended his unbeaten streak to three matches and continued to fight for the Vezina Trophy.

He currently ranks among the top 10 goaltenders in the NHL in most key metrics.

He ranks sixth in terms of wins (24), seventh in save percentage (91.9%), and eighth in total saves (1,199).

And in terms of reliability coefficient, it is not so far from the top 10.

On average, he concedes 2.67 goals per meeting, which is the 16th result among all his colleagues in the role.

In turn, the top three most “reliable” Russian goalkeepers include Pyotr Kochetkov, Ilya Samsonov and Ilya Sorokin.

But if the first one was forced to be exiled to the AHL after the return of the two main goalkeepers of the Carolinas, then others steadily go on the ice.

True, they do not always help their teams to take two points.

If Toronto managed to interrupt the successful Minnesota streak of four meetings, then the Islanders on their ice could not cope with Los Angeles.

Although it is difficult to blame Sorokin for this.

He made 25 saves, and the goals conceded were more likely the result of the connivance of the defenders than the mistakes of the goalkeeper.

Nobody prevented Philip Dano from finishing off a penny, Artur Kaliev from completing a two-on-one counterattack, and Gabriel Vilardi from a powerful “click” right off the bat.

In the latter case, Ilya even had time to react and touched the puck, but it treacherously bounced into the net.

The partners, however, limited themselves to only two accurate hits and did not help to win a third victory in a row.

Samsonov was also often forced to demonstrate his skills, but he was a little more successful.

He missed only once, but scored 24 saves and did not allow Kirill Kaprizov to score in the seventh away meeting in a row and repeat his own record.

The Minnesota forward limited himself to two shots on target and ended the game with a negative utility score ("-1").

And without effective actions of their leader, the Wild were beaten in overtime - 1:2.

The day was not the most successful for Sergei Bobrovsky and Ivan Provorov.

The goalkeeper, although he broke out with 32 rescues, failed to provide Florida with a victory over Buffalo (1: 3), and the defender - to save Philadelphia from defeat in the match with Montreal (2: 5).

Only the fourth goal in the regular season can cheer him up a little.

A minute and a half before the end, he supported the attack of partners and left Jake Allen out of work.

Orlov's departure

At the same time, one of the main events of recent days in the NHL took place off the ice.

We are talking about the exchange of Dmitry Orlov from Washington to Boston.

The Russian defender defended the colors of the “capital” for 11 seasons, helped him win the Stanley Cup, and in the current championship shared sixth place among all field hockey team players in terms of utility (“2”), and was also ranked fourth in the list of the best defenders-scorers .

But that didn't stop management from sending him and Garnet Hathaway to Massachusetts, getting Craig Smith back and three draft picks.

Dissatisfaction with this deal was expressed not only by the defender himself, but also by the captain of the team.

According to Dmitry, the Capitals have become a family for him, which is very difficult to leave.

And Alexander Ovechkin called the departure of a compatriot "a sad event."

According to him, both Orlov and Hatheui were excellent teammates and good friends, and parting with them will not be easy to survive.

Nevertheless, surrounded by the Russians, they perfectly understood that an exchange to another team was quite possible.

And this is due to his expiring contract, with whose extension there were difficulties.

According to Match TV, 31-year-old Orlov wanted to sign an agreement for six years, while Washington offered him a three-year agreement.

And so that the hockey player would not leave the capital in the status of a free agent, it was decided to receive at least some compensation for him.

But in this story, it is also important that another Russian defender was seriously injured from the exchange of Orlov.

According to The Athletic, Vladislav Gavrikov was originally supposed to go to Boston.

The clubs almost shook hands, but the Bruins asked several times to delay the deal.

At the same time, the athlete himself did not go out on the ice all this time, because in Columbus they feared that he would be injured.

And now it is not clear how the situation with Gavrikov will be resolved.

Today he remained out of the application for the match with Minnesota, and the last time he went out on the ice as early as February 11.

And it is not clear whether he will be returned to the base or will continue to wait for offers from other teams.