Winnipeg Jets 2-5 Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals have won seven in the last ten games, and the match against the Winnipeg Jets is the fourth game in the winning streak. Not having a very stable start to the season, “Capital” started to improve the situation. The outcome of the match against the Jets was made in just under 15 minutes in the second half, when the Washington players had almost no chance to save their opponents the day by scoring four goals. “Winnipeg” tried, scored two goals but that wasn’t enough. And at the end of the match, Alexander Ovechkin put a good end to this confrontation.
Alexander the Great’s 797th goal in his career was truly spectacular. 58 minutes into the game, the Jets were playing without a goalie trying to rebound and send the game into overtime. At one point, Ovechkin took the puck with his stick from Russian defender Dmitry Orlov and sent him into an empty net with a powerful 35-metre move. None of the opponents managed to protect either the attacker himself or the flying projectile.
The most interesting fact about Ovechkin’s goal is that he has hit empty nets four times in a row in the last three games. This was the first time in the career of Alexander the Great.
Ovechkin currently has 53 clear goals and this has helped Wayne Gretzky one step closer to this benchmark record. The outstanding Canadian has 56 such goals, and the Russian striker currently occupies the second place. There are four goals left for Gretzky to break that record.
But before the “eternal record” of the outstanding Canadian hockey player, Ovechkin needs to hit exactly 97 strokes. Second place in the list of the best NHL snipers in Gordie Howe’s career, occupied by the 801th puck, is very close for the Russian – four goals to catch and one more to pass.
Before the Winnipeg game, Ovechkin talked about chasing Gretzky’s record and admitted that he was happy with his career goal record.
“It’s great. We’re getting closer and closer every time. There are only two players ahead and it’s great to be third. How many commemorative discs do I have in my collection? I have a few discs, but I prefer sticks,” Ovechkin said on the club’s Twitter.
The forward also scored another personal success. This was Ovechkin’s 51st goal against the Winnipeg/Atlanta Thrashers. This is the record for the number of goals scored against a club.
However, Alexander the Great was not the only one who recorded effective actions at his own expense in the match between the Russians. Helping Ovechkin score, Guard Orlov had another assist: they put Lars Eller in a shock position, along with Anthony Manta. At the same time, the defender made his first appearance on the ice in 16 games since October 6, where he was treated for injury. And Evgeny Kuznetsov became the author of the second goal of “Washington”: he received a pass from under the goal from John Carlson, slipped the puck into an offended hand and hit it hard.
Other achievements of Russian players in the NHL
Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues 3-2 in overtime. The winning disc featured Russian forward Valery Nichushkin and, along with Cale Makar, helped Mikko Rantanen go into overtime by 29 seconds.
In this match, the striker of the losing team also scored: Vladimir Tarasenko, St. He scored Louis’ first goal, but failed to save the team from defeat. However, the hockey player was considered the third star of the match, and this goal helped him reach sixth place in powerplay goals in Blues history: He has 64 such checkers. Tarasenko’s next goal is the position of Garry Anger – 86 goals.
Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko scores his first goal in the NHL. This happened in the Los Angeles Kings regular season NHL game, which ended in a 6-5 overtime win for Columbus.
Marchenko opened the score with Kent Johnson’s assist in the 7th minute of the first period.
Vladislav Gavrikov contributed to the win, first he and Eric Robinson staged a scoring chance for Jack Roslovich, and in overtime the Russian assisted Johnny Gordo, who led the Jackets to a game win.
For Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, the game against Seattle Cracken was a smashing hit. The Panthers lost 2-5 and the goalkeeper, who spent almost the entire game (except for the 20 seconds when the coach team decided to kick him out), conceded four goals (Seattle scored one in the empty net) and made 27 saves.