Washington Capitals – Nashville Predators – 2:3
Before the match against Nashville, Washington called up goalkeeper Hunter Shepard from the farm club, who appeared on the ice from the first minutes. The 28-year-old goalkeeper played in the world’s strongest league for the first time this season, but this match was his third match.
It was a rough start for Shepard and the Capitals. In the third minute, Luke Evangelista took the puck bouncing from the far corner and shot at the home team’s goal. And just over three minutes later, Roman Josi turned Gustav Nyqvist’s pass into a goal with a wrist shot on the power play.
Having started the meeting cheerfully, the Predators slowed down a bit and Stefan Carbery’s men were already attacking Yaroslav Askarov’s goal. The 21-year-old Russian goaltender played in his third NHL game, his second start this season and first.
Beck Malensteen struck first in the 11th minute, and late in the second period Alexander Ovechkin made his signature irresistible touch from the office in the left faceoff circle following a pass from Dylan Strome.
The goal was the Caps captain’s seventh goal of the season and his 829th career regular-season goal; thus leaving him only 65 goals shy of Wayne Gretzky, who holds the all-time sniper record.
Alexander the Great could bring victory to his team in normal time. One minute before the end of the third period, he entered the court from the right side with another perfect shot and hit Askarov again. Caps heartily celebrated the winning goal, but…
Preds coach Andrew Esmer made a tackle that saw forward Nic Dowd setting a screen in front of the visiting Russian goalkeeper, sliding across the goal area and catching the goalkeeper’s pad there before passing to Ovi. It is unlikely that this somehow interfered with Askarov in the episode, but the referees took advantage of an official opportunity, but still a reason to cancel the goal.
Overtime did not bring success to anyone, but in the penalty shootout the guests turned out to be stronger. The Washingtonians’ first attempt was made by Evgeny Kuznetsov, who broke his own personal anti-record; He had already played nine matches without scoring a goal. Kuzya moved towards goal with his characteristically slow demeanor, but Askarov managed to react to the shot.
Ovechkin finished second in the shootout for Washington. He did everything quite nicely, but Askarov also parried his sneak shot “home”. Five of Ovi’s five post-game shot attempts this season have already failed.
Nashville converted both penalty kicks, thus giving Askarov, the 11th pick of the 2020 draft, his first victory in the NHL. It was the fourth consecutive defeat for the capital, although two of them occurred outside normal time.
Tampa Bay Lightning – New York Rangers – 1:5
The Rangers, who were in excellent form after losing to Florida the day before, continued their away series on the south coast with a match against Tampa Bay. John Cooper’s team appears to be finding itself, but it’s still unclear whether it can not only remain a contender for the Stanley Cup, but also whether it can even make the playoffs.
Rangers started the match well. Despite the pressure from the home side, the New Yorkers played very solidly in defense (naturally, Igor Shesterkin also assisted at the end line) and took advantage of their fatal chances.
In a two-on-zero game, Vincent Trocheck passed to Artemy Panarin, who one-timed to force Andrei Vasilevskiy to surrender for the first time in the match. And before the first intermission, Trocheck managed to score a goal of his own.
Nikita Kucherov sealed the majority with his 25th goal of the championship (moving into sole second place) and brought the Lightning back into the game at the end of the second period, but Chris Kreider took advantage of the same pass from Trocheck to restore status. just 51 seconds later.
In the last period, Trocheck’s third assist of the match brought Panarin’s second goal, and then the Russian striker scored his second hat-trick of the season and the sixth hat-trick of his overseas career without the help of Vincent.
The Rangers won six of their last eight games to move into first place in the NHL, while Tampa Bay suffered its second loss after three straight wins.
Pittsburgh Penguins – St. Louis Blues – 4:2
Pittsburgh’s 600th league assist from Erik Karlsson and Sidney Crosby’s 20th goal of the season helped Pittsburgh win against St. Louis. The Penguins extended their winning streak to five games (4-0-1) against St. Louis.
However, the real hero of the match was Russian forward Evgeni Malkin, who assisted Pens’ first two goals and scored a power play goal. So he already has 31 points (14+17) this season.
Pittsburgh sits just seventh in the Metropolitan Division with 38 points after 34 games, but is just two points behind second-place “wild card” Washington with even games played.
Other matches
Winnipeg Jets – Minnesota Wild – 4:2
Buffalo Sabers – Columbus Blue Jackets – 3:2 overtime
Boston Bruins – New Jersey Devils – 5:2
Florida Panthers – Montreal Canadians – 4:1
Toronto Maple Leafs – Carolina Hurricanes – 2:3
Los Angeles Kings – Edmonton Oilers – 2:3 B