Vladimir BYCHEK
HERO OF THE WEEK
The Finnish goalkeeper “Columbus” Fredrik Norrena made his debut in the NHL at the age of Christ and without hesitation he shouldered the heavy cross of a note outsider. The Messiah was awaited here. True, at first, the gray-haired Ken Hitchcock, who was appointed to the coaching position, was taken for the savior. And only the record in the history of the “blue jackets” dry series of the silver medalist of the Olympics in Turin put everything in its place. The removal of the elite Edmonton and Colorado to zero cleared the throne for the messiah. A slightly soaked mockery of “St. Louis”, although it stopped Norrena at around 155 minutes 28 seconds, the faith of the fans did not shake. Those now look with completely different eyes at the penultimate row of favorites in the Western Conference. Indeed, until recently, the formerly half-empty glass of the Columbus is now half full of hope.
TEAM OF THE WEEK
The tactics of “New Jersey” are simple, like the “tic-tac-toe” fun familiar from childhood: the five “devils” decisively cross out the attacking attempts of rivals, and the incomparable Martin Broder zeroes out half- and quarter-moments. Here it is not up to the multifaceted rubikov cubes of Buffalo or Anaheim. On the other hand, the credo of the East Rutheffers could have sounded like a parody of the 80s Edmonton motto: we will score two goals for you, and you will score even less. And let the “New Jersey” - the main greed for abandoned goals in the Eastern Conference, because the “Devils” are allowed to pass only on holidays. Last week, for example, Broder in three matches didn’t deceive just two goals, and the team, having received full six points, perched on top of the Atlantic division. Someone wants to see shows, while others have enough of bread crust ...
TOPIC OF THE WEEK
Toronto fans today will not envy. How many hopes they associated with this season, but it turned out as if in that fable - they sang red summer, did not have time to look back, as winter rolls into my eyes. The harsh December turned "maple leaves" into a national laughing stock, and the once-united army of their fans into disparate groups of masochists. Last week, Canadians sequentially suffered fifth, sixth and seventh defeats in a row, and did so in such a way that they forced even the experienced Mats Sundin to blush. Leading 2-0 in the match with Atlanta, Toronto conceded five unanswered goals in the final period and capitulated 2-5. With “Boston” - the same rake, side view: 1: 0 to the second break, transformed 1: 3 after the final siren. And only frail in the realization of the numerical advantage, Detroit noblely distributed ammunition by period, having thrown all five goals into the gates of the poor Canadian poor ... in the majority. Maybe you need to change something at the conservatory?
FAREWELL OF THE WEEK
They say that invincible rivals do not exist. Not true. His Majesty Time prevails in any battles and always plays by his own rules. This is only a flirty woman in forty-five berries again, the hockey player’s career after forty is irreversibly heading towards sunset. Last Wednesday, another star fell from the overseas horizon - Joe Newindyke . She fell casually, almost imperceptibly, leaving behind the light of three victories in the Stanley Cup, the Olympic gold of Salt Lake City and, at least for a while, staking out a place in the twenty brightest NHL snipers of all time. Chronic back pains and vague prospects for a full recovery have crossed out the professional future of 40-year-old Florida striker, clearly hinting that it’s never too early to live in memories.
RUSSIAN WEEKS
Having spent on a well-deserved rest Steve Aizerman and saying goodbye to Brendan Shenahan, who had gone to New York bread, “Detroit” doomed itself to serious problems in the attack. In an acute shortage of ideas, all eyes logically turned to the Russian playmaker Pavel Datsyuk , but he was in no hurry to indulge in beautiful goals and dagger programs. The striker started up last week when he scored 6 (2 + 4) points in three matches, but the 28-year-old Sverdlovsk citizen is still behind the last year’s schedule. A third of the distance is behind, and to the level set in the previous championship (87 points on the “goal + pass” system) - as a novice climber to the peak of Jomolungma. On the other hand, has reached the ceiling - think about the Roof of the world ...
BATTLE OF THE WEEK
Monday, December 4th. Vancouver - Edmonton: Kevin Bixa frantically beats the brains of Jean-Francois Jacques .
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“In terms of utility rating, I was always in the red. This is the flip side of my game. Now for me, plus / minus is as important as abandoned goals. If a team wants to break into the playoffs, then everyone should be responsible for the result. Everything I need to finish in the black. I even agree to +1, Atlanta striker Ilya Kovalchuk . For three full seasons in the NHL, the Russian scored 108 goals, but had a -19 in his debut campaign, "-24 "- next year and" -10 "- according to the results of the championship-2003/04. Even in the last championship, when Ilya threw a record in the Enkhaelovs career 52 goals, his utility rate was "-6" ... Now Kovalchuk hooked on the mark "-1" and is preparing for "global warming."
FIGURES OF THE WEEK
The 500th NHL match was held Saturday night by Colorado defender Karlis Skrastins. Moreover, for five and a half seasons or 462 games in a row Riga went on the ice in all the matches of their teams without exception - this is the longest series among the current hockey players of the league! Unbending Chrastins left to “light up” in 24 games in a row to repeat the record of longevity for the defenders. So far, this achievement belongs to Tim Horton, who spoke in the NHL from 1950 to February 74, when he tragically died in a car accident.
WAITING FOR THE WEEK
Sid Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin ! The mere union of the names of these geeks forms an explosive mixture, ready to blow up the stands and tear apart the hearts of even the most callous statisticians to shreds. Today is the first round of a new four-match duel! The confrontation between the 19-year-old Canadian and the 21-year-old Russian began last season, and although our striker set the rival in the fight for the title of the best rookie, full-time battles ended in favor of the Pittsburgh striker. In the games with “Washington”, Sid scored three goals, gave six assists and had “+3” in the “plus / minus” column. Ovechkin's statistics - 6 (3 + 3) points and "+2". Now the “penguin” is ahead of Washington in the scorer of the championship race, therefore, according to the unwritten law of conservation, we have the right to expect anti-pensilvan sentiments from Alexander the Great. They are also on hand and the metropolitan club, hooked on the last carriage carried away in the playoffs of the train.
CM. ALSO
5th of December. Minnesota - Chicago. Forward hosts Pierre-Marc Bouchard scores the winning goal against Nikolai Khabibulin in the 6th round of the shootout. According to the hero of the evening, the youngest brother Francois, who plays in the Quebec youth league, taught him feint with his ears.