Ovechkin's brilliant game
Alexander Ovechkin continues to delight fans with his brilliant performance. In the match with Montreal, the forward's scoring streak, which totaled six meetings, was interrupted. However, already in the confrontation with New Jersey, in which his team was stronger (6:2), he scored a double for the second time this season and scored three points for the first time in the regular season.
At the same time, the Russian scored effective actions in the ninth game in a row. The last time he performed better was five years ago: in the 2018/19 season he managed to excel in 14 matches.
On the list of top scorers in NHL history, the Capitals' captain moved a little closer to Wayne Gretzky's record. Ovechkin now has 838 goals, and is only 56 accurate shots away from the great Canadian.
At the same time, Alexander took third place in the number of home goals, surpassing Jaromir Jagr. The forward has 412 of them. Only the same Gretzky (492) and Gordie Howe (449) are ahead.
Moreover, the meeting between Washington and New Jersey was especially important, since the teams are neighbors in the standings and compete with each other for a place in the playoffs. Ovechkin himself noted this after the victory.
“Today’s game was very important for us. You could say it was a fight for four points. We had a great start. Connor McMichael's line performed admirably. Chucky [Charlie Lindgren] was incredible today... The most important thing is that we didn’t stop in the third period,” the official NHL website quotes Alexander as saying.
The Capitals showed their desire for results already in the first minute, when McMichael opened the scoring. It was not possible to maintain the advantage, but already in the second period the Canadian scored the second goal and again brought his team ahead.
And the most productive was the last twenty minutes, which Ovechkin spoke about. The fans saw five goals at once. And a Russian took part in three of them. First he assisted Dylan Strome, and then scored on his own, shooting at goal from a crowd of hockey players after a throw-in. Alexander scored a double in the match in the last minute, hitting the far post in the power play.
Following the match, the Russian was recognized as the third star. The best player was McMichael, the second was goalkeeper Lindgren. But the NHL did not skimp and named the Russian forward the best player of the day.
41 saves by Shesterkin and assist by Sorokin
Kirill Kaprizov, after a phenomenal match with Vancouver, in which he scored six points (3 + 3), did not slow down in the confrontation with Winnipeg. The Minnesota forward scored a goal and an assist. In the 53rd minute he converted the power play, and in the 55th minute he assisted Marco Rossi.
Thus, the Russian scored in the sixth meeting in a row. At the moment, he has scored 59 points (24 + 35) and is 19th on the list of top NHL scorers this season. Nikita Kucherov is still in the lead - 94 (36+58), Nathan Mackinon is in second place - 92 (33+59). True, Kaprizov’s activity could not significantly help the team: Minnesota lost 3:6.
Artemy Panarin also scored an assist in the match with Dallas, which the Rangers won with a score of 3:1. However, the main star of this meeting was his teammate, Igor Shesterkin. The Russian reflected 41 shots (!) on his own goal.
The goalkeeper had the most work in the third period. He made 17 saves at once. The athlete acted especially impressively in the end, first preventing Jamie Benn from scoring in the match, and then stopping Tyler Seguin twice. Moreover, after the game the hockey player joked casually.
“I urgently need a good dinner for [Tyler Seguin]. I just tried to fight until the end. [But] when he shoots the puck high, a goal is guaranteed. Today I was lucky,” the Russian admitted.
This time, the goalkeeper was praised not only by his teammates, but also by Dallas head coach Peter DeBoer. According to him, stopping shots almost point-blank is the highest art of goalkeeping, and Igor was really good on the ice this time.
Shesterkin helped the Rangers win their eighth game in a row. At the same time, the goalkeeper himself won his 12th victory with 40+ saves for New York and, according to this indicator, took third place in the history of the club. Only Henrik Lundqvist (21) and Lorne Worsley (22) have more victories with as many shots saved.
Other Russian goalkeepers also played leading roles in their teams that day. Ilya Sorokin scored an assist in the confrontation with Pittsburgh. The Islanders goalie successfully deflected the opponent's shot: the puck then rolled out to forward Mathew Barzal, who hit the Penguins goal.
This assist was the 28-year-old hockey player’s second this season and the third in his NHL career. Previously, Ilya was able to score on March 9, 2023 in a match with Pittsburgh (4:3), as well as on January 2, 2024 in a game with Colorado (4:5).
Sorokin also made 37 saves and helped his team win in overtime - 5:4. At the same time, for the first time in five matches, Evgeni Malkin scored an assist.
Florida goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 out of 30 shots in the confrontation with Ottawa (3:2 OT). For the Russian, the victory was the 388th in the NHL regular championships. By this indicator, he is equal to Rangers goalkeeper Jonathan Quick and shares with the American 16th place in league history. First up is Martin Brodeur (691).
The match was not without a showdown involving the goalkeeper. Bobrovsky did not like the actions of American Senators forward Brady Tkachuk in the third period, and he hit his opponent in the face. Fortunately, the referee did not punish anyone in this episode.
Another Russian goalkeeper Alexander Georgiev made 24 saves in the match with Vancouver and helped Colorado win their second victory in a row - 3:1. His team scored 74 points and ranks third in the Western Conference table.