Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 Washington Capitals
The previous day, Pittsburgh forward Evgeni Malkin hosted many distinguished guests at his home: Russian Washington players Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Alexander Alekseev and Belarusian Alexei Protas who joined them. A photo from a friendly dinner was published by Malkin’s wife, Anna Kasterova, and signed “From Russia with love.” But the very next day, this hot company turned out to be on different sides, and yesterday’s hospitable host turned out to be a tough contender for the quartet from Washington.
It was Malkin who ultimately brought his team two points – and as valuable as his success was, Pittsburgh nearly missed the victory.
The first half of the match was goalless, but from the 31st to the 41st minute, the hosts scored three goals each, while Ryan Peeling, Chad Ruwedel and Jake Gunzel scored from the puck.
Over the course of the season, we have repeatedly observed how Washington, finding himself in a similar position, is “crumbled” and unable to change anything. But now that the wild card was in the playoffs, it was vital for Caps to score in this game. In the last period, the “capital” made a strong comeback.
First, Tom Wilson sucked in Evgeny Kuznetsov’s pass, then Ovechkin dropped his puck to turn the majority and Dylan Strome evened the score in the 58th minute.
But the guests did not rejoice for long. It took just a minute and a half for Pittsburgh to take the lead again, and this puck turned out to be decisive, and Malkin threw the ball. Caps forward Anthony Manta made a fatal mistake by literally hooking the puck into Evgeny’s hook in the middle circle, who quickly crossed the field and easily outstripped Capitals goalie Darcy Kemper.
“Of course we need to be better in the third period. We were winning 3-0 but we had some drama. Hopefully this is the last time we give competitors the opportunity to regain such an advantage.
However, I hope the fans enjoyed the game. When I scored, I threw with all my might. This will definitely give me confidence – an important goal for me and valuable points for the team, ”Malkin said after the match. official site NHL.
Thanks to this goal, Gino was recognized as the first star of the meeting. He also upgraded his personal scoring stats to #57 on the list of greatest goalscorers in NHL history. Of course he is far from Ovechkin fighting for first place but still Malkin currently has 469 goals for his career in the overseas league.
Ovi scored 42 for the season and 822 for his career against Pittsburgh. He was 72 goals behind the greatest NHL goalscorer of all time, Wayne Gretzky.
By the way, it was noted this week that Ovechkin moved to second place on this list – even if it happened much earlier. Pittsburgh also contributed – in the warm-up before the match, the club congratulated the Russians on this success, in response Ovechkin showed his thumb and thanked his opponents.
But this is perhaps one of the few reasons for the joy of the “capital”. Pittsburgh is one of their main contenders for a playoff spot, and with the win, the Penguins secured their eighth spot in the Eastern Conference standings to qualify for the Stanley Cup.
Pittsburgh has 82 points, while 11th-placed Washington has 76 points.
For the “capitals” to not only reclaim that lead from the remaining eight games, but to shift their opponents from eighth place, a number of factors need to improve almost unbelievably – and among them we must not forget: “Pittsburgh” and “Washington”, who also want playoffs “Florida” and Buffalo’ Stop. Caps head coach Peter Laviolette admitted that his players were very upset after the game.
“The game quickly turned around, we were able to win back the lead. I think we’ve done a great job of focusing and getting back to the game. It’s a pity that we eventually lost even though we reciprocated, the kids are very upset,” Laviolette said.
Edmonton Oilers – Vegas Golden Knights – 3:4 Overtime
Last night, “Vegas”, the leader in the ranking of the West, visited “Edmonton” and won the victory without difficulty. But if the match between Pittsburgh and Washington had a bright comeback, then here the fans witnessed a real “swing” – both teams scored in turns.
Separately, we note the Russian hockey players “Vegas”. Ivan Barbashev recorded an assist in the second minute when he opened the score after a Jack Eichel pass.
Two and a half minutes later, Zach Hyman evened the score, but the teams left with the guest advantage at the first timeout – Pavel Dorofeev put the Knights ahead again in the 17th minute.
In the second part of the game, Leon Draisaitl stabilized and in the final period the opponents dropped another puck – the hosts responded to Jonathan Marchesseau’s goal with a precise shot from Warren Fegele. The winner was determined in overtime – Vegas took the lead with a goal from Nicolas Roy.
It’s also worth highlighting Edmonton forward Connor McDavid, the most prolific player this season. In the game against Vegas, he didn’t shoot anyone else’s goal, but scored an assist. So he already has 139 points in the current season (60 + 79). Ranked #25 in NHL history in single season points.
Carolina Hurricanes 5-3 Toronto Maple Leafs
The Carolinas have long solidified their place in the playoffs, as has Toronto. However, the face-to-face meeting of these teams was the most difficult test for the “hurricanes”. They were leading 2:0 in the 11th minute, but the score was 2:2 in the middle of the second period. In the final game, the teams recorded another puck and overtime seemed to be unavoidable. However, the situation for the hosts was corrected by Sebastian Aho, who scored the winning goal. And after that Carolina managed to score again – Teuvo Teräväinen hit an empty net.
It’s a pretty bland scenario, although not an important detail. The Maple Leafs attacked incredibly actively and the game could have been very different without Russian Hurricanes goalie Pyotr Kochetkov. He saved 41 of 44 shots and was considered the second star of the match, and after the match, Carolina head coach Rod Brindamore expressed his special gratitude to him.
“Kochetkov mastered the ice. This is the first game of the season that we wouldn’t have had a chance to win if it wasn’t for the goalkeeper.
The rival has a lot of talented players around the world and my hats off to them, they played really great. They attacked in waves and if we didn’t have a goalie we would have definitely lost,” said Brindamore.
Montreal Canadiens 8-2 Columbus Blue Jackets
The confrontation between two outsiders of the Eastern Conference ended with Columbus completely defeated. The Jackets have conceded another goal this season and lost 4-9 to Buffalo, but the Montreal score is definitely a heavy blow, even for a team with San Jose in last place in the league.
The only bright spot for Russian fans in this match was the goal of Columbus forward Kirill Marchenko. The 22-year-old striker made the score 2-2 at the end of the first period, giving the fans hope for the continuation of the fight.
But this did not happen, only the Canadians scored more goals. But it should be noted that Marchenko scored 19 times in his first season in the NHL. The referees did not count his goal at first, but changed the decision after watching the replay.