Washington series
The last three weeks have been extremely disappointing for the Capitals. If before this Spencer Carbery's team at least alternated victories and defeats, then during this period they literally failed and were beaten six times in a row. And thanks to this, they fell noticeably behind the playoff zone - before the next game day, eight points separated them from Tampa, which was eighth in the East. The only thing that could please the local fans was the form of Alexander Ovechkin, who finally began to regularly replenish his scorer and sniper accounts. So, in the previous four meetings he invariably scored points, and in the last three he even scored, gradually closing the gap in goals from the legendary Wayne Gretzky.
Despite this, Washington was clearly not considered a favorite in the away match with the leader of the Eastern Conference, Boston, which lost only three times in ten matches. Therefore, the statistics after the first two periods could have shocked many. After all, the guests not only took the lead thanks to TJ Oshie’s accurate shot, but also had an almost three-fold advantage in shots on target (23:8). The hosts clearly did not look like one of the strongest teams in the league and were mostly on the defensive, with great difficulty creating anything dangerous near Charlie Lindgren’s goal.
As a result, the Bruins were never able to upset the Capitals goalie, allowing him to not only record his third shutout of the season, but also become the second star of the game. The above-mentioned Oshie was recognized first, and the opposing goalkeeper Jeremy Swayman was third. Although Ovechkin clearly deserved inclusion on this list. After all, he not only took part in the last two goals of the guests, but was also present on the ice while the first one was scored.
But if then he only looked at the puck after his partner’s accurate “shot,” then in the two remaining cases he had a direct connection to the team’s successes. First, Ovechkin, together with Dylan Strome, organized a lightning-fast counterattack and helped his teammate score for the 20th time in the regular season. And then he did it himself. At the very end, the Russian made an interception, just like in the good old days, he made a cruising dash into someone else’s zone and completed what he started.
Thus, Ovechkin has 834 career goals. But if the record for their total number still belongs to Gretzky (894), then the record for goals in an empty net has already gone to the Russian. He has 57 of them, the Canadian has one less.
Miracles from Bobrovsky and Kochetkov
The domestic goalkeepers, who were among the top three stars of the day, did not lag behind Lindgren. The confrontation between Carolina and New Jersey turned out to be grassroots, although the teams could not be blamed for their lack of desire to move forward. Between them they made 66 accurate shots, and another 39 were blocked. However, Pyotr Kochetkov and Vitek Vanecek caught the courage and refused to concede throughout the entire regulation time. The same Russian outplayed Nico Hischier and Tyler Toffoli several times in close combat, saved after substitutions on the spot, and also miraculously managed to react after an unsuccessful rebound from a teammate. After a treacherous shot from Jack Hughes, the puck bounced off Peter's pad at Sebastian Aho and flew back into the goal.
As a result, regulation time ended in a goalless draw, and the winner was determined only in overtime. And there, too, there were some spectacular actions by the Russian, who covered the same Toffoli twice in ten seconds. The Hurricanes were inspired by this and still upset Vanecek - after a shot by Martin Necas, Aho hit the finishing touch (1:0). But he did not steal the title of first star from Kochetkov. It was Peter who was recognized, who not only made 34 saves, but also recorded his second shutout of the season - among newcomers, only Samuel Ersson from Philadelphia (three) had more.
In turn, Kochetkov’s senior colleague kept a clean sheet for the third time, thanks to which he took third place in history among domestic goalkeepers (41). Moreover, Sergei Bobrovsky managed to stop the attack of the formidable Colorado, whose colors are defended by the stars Cale Makar, Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon - the main rival of Nikita Kucherov in the pursuit of the Art Ross Trophy. True, one of the most productive hockey players of the tournament this time was not very noticeable in front and only once forced the Russian to demonstrate his skills.
The same cannot be said about his colleagues. The same Rantanen scored six hits on target, Samuel Girard and Devon Toews – four, Makar – two. In total, Bobrovsky was harassed 35 times, but he never wavered, thanks to which he deservedly received the title of first star. As for the Panthers, they did not take the matter to overtime and decided everything in the main, forcing Alexander Georgiev to capitulate four times. Moreover, Dmitry Kulikov was involved in Eetu Luostarinen’s goal, chalking up the assist (4:0).
Kucherov's breakaway and Tarasenko's goal
MacKinnon's misfire was taken full advantage of by his competitor. Yes, Kucherov didn’t score, but he assisted twice and extended his scoring streak to seven matches. Moreover, for this he needed less than 19 minutes in the third period. First, he helped Steven Stamkos score on the power play to give the Lightning the lead, and then he gave Brandon Hagel a shot into the empty net. Tampa Bay strengthened its advantage in the confrontation with Columbus and removed all questions about the winner - 4:2. Thus, Nikita now has 89 (33 + 56) points, which is four more than Nathan (32 + 53).
But this was not the only thing that made the meeting at the Nationwide Arena memorable. Kirill Marchenko also tried himself as a projectile carrier and scored with a pass, and Andrei Vasilevsky gave one of the best performances of the season. The Russian made 33 saves and kept company with Bobrovsky and Kochetkov, becoming the first star. For comparison, Kucherov did not make it into the top three.
Just like his compatriots, who appeared in the match between Ottawa and Toronto. One of the main outsiders of the Eastern Conference unexpectedly took over Sheldon Keefe's team (5:3), and Vladimir Tarasenko and Artem Zub distinguished themselves as part of the triumphant team. The former scored his 14th goal in the regular season and took fourth place on the list of the Senators' best snipers, while the latter assisted his teammates for the 15th time. According to this indicator, he is in third place on the team among defenders.
In turn, St. Louis dealt with Buffalo thanks to a pass from Pavel Buchnevich (3:1), and Ilya Mikheev’s pass did not save Vancouver from a second defeat in a row. The guests led 3:1, but first allowed Detroit to restore parity, and conceded for the fourth time in overtime. At the same time, the behavior of Nikita Zadorov became the most discussed. Already in the second period, he rudely attacked Lucas Raymond and was sent off for the rest of the match for a blow to the head.