Return of the Captain

Alexander Ovechkin is back in Washington's lineup after missing a game against the Rangers due to a lower-body injury. The Russian forward made a significant contribution to the team's victory over Buffalo, recording a goal and an assist, thanks to which he was recognized as the first star of the meeting.

The abandoned puck was the 817th in the overseas career of the Russian. Now Alexander has become even closer to the cherished goal - from the eternal record of Wayne Gretzky he is separated by 77 goals. In addition, this goal was Ovechkin's 402nd at home, thanks to which he bypassed Mike Gartner and went to a clean fourth place in the history of the league in this indicator.

The game at the Capital One Arena didn't start out too well for Washington. Already in the fifth minute, Charlie Lindgren's goal was opened with a wrist shot by Sabres defender Ilya Lyubushkin, and in the ninth the hosts were already "burning" 0-2 after the goal of John-Jason Peterka. And then Ovechkin got involved. Having received the puck in his "office", the Russian did not shoot at the goal, which all opponents expect from him, but shot at the spot. The idea paid off: although Dylan Strome first hit the post, T.J. Oshie immediately reacted to the rebound, pushing the puck into the net. In the wake of success, the Capitals rushed to the attack with renewed enthusiasm, but failed to score and instead missed another puck. The second period was goalless, but in the third the teams made a real spectacle, again scoring four times for two.

First, Evgeny Kuznetsov broke a losing streak of six games without a point, taking the goalkeeper by surprise with a shot on the center. And after him, Ovechkin scored his 37th goal of the season. Moreover, this goal was scored in a completely uncharacteristic manner. The Washington forward, with a sharp movement of the stick, adjusted the trajectory of the puck flying under the crossbar after Trevor van Riemsdyk's shot. However, the hosts still lost 3-4, as five minutes earlier Zemgus Girgensons restored the difference of two goals. As a result, the Capitals were saved only 68 seconds before the final siren thanks to the puck of Tom Wilson.

In overtime, the teams could not determine the strongest, and the main characters of the shootout were Lindgren, who saved two shots, as well as Kuznetsov and Oshie, who realized their attempts. And Eugene did it in a slightly imposing manner, which delighted the commentators.

"A very important win, very important points. Yesterday, of course, we had a chance to bounce back, but we didn't. Playing for the second day in a row against young, fast teams was not easy. It was a good two points," Ovechkin commented on the results of the meeting.

He also noted that he would prefer not to miss a single match in the decisive part of the regular season, but sometimes this simply cannot be avoided.

Washington head coach Peter Laviolette praised the captain's contribution to the overall success. According to him, the Russian will always prefer to be on the court if health problems do not leave their mark.

"Given the personal circumstances, given what he had to deal with yesterday, last night and this morning, preparing for this game, I believe he gave his all," the American specialist concluded.

Buchnevich's Brilliance

Pavel Buchnevich became the real leader of St. Louis after the team traded Vladimir Tarasenko to the Rangers. The Russian has been picking up points for ten straight games: during this period, he scored seven goals and made 11 assists.

In the home game against Minnesota, the 27-year-old forward appeared in all his glory, scoring the second hat trick of his career - and the first in the form of the Blues.

Pavel opened the scoring in the match in the fifth minute, working on the spot. He spotted the puck bouncing off the boards straight to the net and pushed it into the net past Marc-Andre Fleury. Even before the break, it became clear that the game would be replete with sharp moments and goals: the hosts scored twice more, and the visitors responded with one accurate shot.

Early in the second period, Minnesota fell off the chain, scoring three times in two minutes, and took the lead, 4-3. Buchnevich equalized, and in a very funny way. He didn't even shoot at goal - he made a cross to the spot, but the puck did not reach his partner, but swept between the skates of the defender and slid behind the ribbon.

However, a minute later, Ryan Hartman put the Wild back ahead, and then Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington lost his nerves. He just flew out of the net and lunged at the Minnesota hockey players celebrating the goal. While the referees tried to calm down the enraged goalkeeper, Fleury arrived from the other half of the court, showing with all his appearance that he was ready to fight with a colleague in the role. The Canadian even threw off his helmet and crags, but the referees did not allow a fight and sent the goalkeepers to the bench. Binnington also received a match penalty, and the Blues had to release Thomas Greiss on the ice. The latter did not manage to become the hero of the match: the German quickly conceded three more goals and the question of the winner was actually removed.

But the final point in the match still remained with Buchnevich. The Russian scored the third goal at the end of the game, when the Blues had nothing to lose. He boldly fell to the spot after a faceoff and, receiving a pass, clicked into the near corner. At the end of the game, Pavel was recognized as its second star.

Goalkeeper duel

A spectacular battle of Russian goalkeepers took place in the match "Toronto" - "Colorado", in which the victory in the shootout was celebrated by the guests. The first star of the game was Avalanche goaltender Alexander Georgiev, who stopped 17 of 18 shots on goal. His only goal came from Morgan Reilly in the fourth minute of the game.

The miracles of goalkeeping skills were also demonstrated by Ilya Samsonov, who saved the team in 28 cases out of 29. As a result, the 26-year-old Russian became the second star of the meeting. Only Mikko Rantanen was able to score from the game, and only Nathan MacKinnon managed to beat the goalkeeper in the shootout.

Despite the final defeat, Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe was pleased with the actions of the Russian.

"He was very reliable. I don't think we allowed us to create many dangerous chances in front of our goal, mostly shots were from the perimeter. But, if the opponent threw from killer positions and points in front of the goal, he was ready for it. Ilya looked very athletic and moved quickly in goal, given some of his saves. I think he was great today," the NHL official website quoted the coach as saying.