Vladimir BYCHEK
HERO OF THE WEEK
Hat trick to the gates of San Jose. Goal to Columbus. The only abandoned puck in the battle with Nashville. Thanks to all these exploits, the forward of St. Louis Bill Guerin quickly moved to the elite stalls of the overseas hockey market. After an extremely unsuccessful campaign with Dallas, when a veteran scored only thirteen goals for the entire championship, the current championship rehabilitated him in the eyes of the wide North American public. And since the term of the one-year contract with frail “bluesmen” expires on July 1, 36-year-old strikers were keenly interested in the powers that be. It is rumored that not today, so tomorrow, Guerin will try on the form of either Anaheim, San Jose, or Detroit.
TEAM OF THE WEEK
Something unimaginable today creates a notebook outsider of the last two seasons of “Pittsburgh” . The team scored 6 victories in a row and scored 30 points out of 32 in the last 16 matches! And almost without resorting to the services of the best scorer of the championship Sid Crosby. The Canadian child prodigy scored just a goal in ten games. At the same time, his Russian counterpart Evgeni Malkin drags the team on his not at all fragile shoulders into a bright cup future. Over the past 17 games, Eugene scored 26 (10 + 16) points! On Sunday, he effectively, almost from a zero angle, hit the gates of “Washington”, the club of Alexander Ovechkin. According to Malkin's sincere confession, he has a special incentive to fight with his compatriot.
TOPIC OF THE WEEK
They actually fly. Only low, low, as in that joke about the ensign. Peter Forsberg was tired of feeling like a Philadelphia crocodile and set off to seek happiness in Tennessee. On Thursday, the sky-high "Nashville" traded him for two fledgling chicks and a couple of rounds of draft. It did not even take to part with Alexander Radulov, an active matchmaker in the press. It turns out that the "pilots" made cheaper? Not at all. They simply had no choice. Frequent meetings with general manager Paul Holmgren did not persuade the Swede to extend cohabitation with Philadelphia. The terms of the two-year contract expired in the coming summer. If Forsberg hadn’t let the sores go, the Swede would have ended his career, and the Flyers were left with nothing. And Nashville lives today and is ready to pay millions for a four-month star rental. Having concluded a deal, the “predators” made it clear: they are following the Stanley Cup here and now.
SHOCK OF THE WEEK
The accidental clash in the Saturday game, “Rangers” and “Philadelphia” almost had fatal consequences. In the third period, the paths of the 38-year-old striker of the “policemen” Brendan Shenahan and the 34-year-old “pilot” Mike Knubl intersected in the most absurd way. The first rode into the penalty box. The second is in the opposite direction. They did not see each other. The contact was scary. The right side of Knubl’s face is wrinkled: both the cheekbone and the orbital bone are broken. There is a series of operations ahead, and one god knows how much time the attacker will be out of the game. Shenahan fell no less trials. He knocked over on his back and, having hit hard with the back of his head on the ice, lost consciousness. Blood flowed from my mouth in a thin stream ... For almost ten minutes, the doctors brought the veteran to his senses, then loaded him onto a stretcher and hurriedly sent him to the hospital. Fortunately, no fractures or cracks in the neck, spine or skull were found. After spending the night in a medical facility, Brendan returned to his family. “Seeing this, you involuntarily think about his wife and children,” remarked a close friend of the striker, defender of the “Philadelphia” Derian Hatcher.
RUSSIAN WEEKS
Forward “Detroit” Pavel Datsyuk staked out another title after the Saturday battle with the “Phoenix”. Sverdlovchanin, speaking in the NHL under the “unlucky” thirteenth number, ended the evening with four assists and reached the mark of 300 points in the NHL championships. 59 of them were recruited in 57 games of the current championship.
ANNIVERSARY OF THE WEEK
In a Thursday duel with “Calgary,” the 600th goal in the Enhael career was scored by Colorado striker Joe Sakik . He became the 17th sniper in league history to overcome this milestone. And it doesn’t matter that the anniversary puck flew into the opponent’s empty net. It is much more significant that the newcomer Paul Shtastny assisted the attacker. In 1988, when Sakik scored his first goal in the NHL, playing for Quebec Nordics, his teammate was the father of a 21-year-old guy, Peter Shtastny. Generations change - stars remain.
DEMARCH OF THE WEEK
And two days later, on Saturday, the temperamental Sakik left the club's training, deafeningly slamming the door and beside himself with anger. “I’m a rock star, baby. Our fans are going to look at the player under the 19th number, and not at the person with gray hair walking around the bench,” the attacker growled at the journalist who had turned up under his feet. According to Joe, Joel Kenneville, an avalanche coach, treats him without the slightest respect, and at every opportunity he strives to humiliate his teammates. What exactly the coach offended him, Sakik did not inform the press.
BATTLE OF THE WEEK
The 14th of February. “New Jersey” - “Montreal”: Cam Jenssen vs. Garth Murray . Some people find it easiest to reach out with their fists ...
FIGURES OF THE WEEK
-59 - the total indicator of the usefulness of the four top scorers of “Montreal”. By a combined rating of “+/-”, Sheldon Surei, Saku Koivu, Alexey Kovalev and Michael Ryder take the last place in the league. In comparison, Detroit, which returned leadership at the Western Conference, has the most useful quartet in the entire NHL. The overall “+/-” rating of his top scorers - Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Niklas Lidstrem and Thomas Holmstrom - is +94 ! As they say, feel the difference ...
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“Since childhood I have been a passionate collector of clubs. I have collected a lot of them during my life and I’m not going to stop. In the end, I’m a fan like everyone else. I have clubs of Zdeno Hara, Pavel Datsyuk, Evgeni Malkin and two from Sid Crosby,” - Forward “Washington” Alexander Ovechkin in an interview with Sports Illustrated.
WAITING FOR THE WEEK
On Tuesday, when the “Ottawa” in the native walls will fight with the “Edmonton”, the head coach of the “senators” Brian Murray may celebrate the 600th victory in the NHL. Before him, this peak was submitted only to four coaches of the strongest league on the planet. On Wednesday, the only duel of the Washington forward Alexander Ovechkin in the championship with goalkeeper San Jose Evgeny Nabokov will take place. Unless, of course, the latter is entrusted with a place in the "frame". On Saturday, Nashville, a Peter Forsberg fortified player, will go to battle against its main rival in the struggle for the crown of the Western Empire - Detroit. And the very next evening, the Swede and his comrades will test Sergey Fedorov and the company. Cup prospects for “Columbus” are very vague, but not to beware of the head coach of the “Sinekurochnik” Ken Hitchcock, at least, is stupid.
CM. ALSO
The 14th of February. “Dallas” - “Detroit”: forward of “red wings” Pavel Datsyuk scored an uncomplicated goal after a tricky transfer of the Swedish wizard Henrik Zetterberg.