Weekly review 02.19-25.02 | Weekly review 12.02-18.02
Vladimir BYCHEK
HERO OF THE WEEK
The captain of “Florida” Olli Jokinen cured his teammates of overtime phobia, and for this alone it is possible to erect a monument to him. At least, the attacker has worked on a bust in his native Kuopio a long time ago. On Tuesday, the Finn scored a hat-trick into the gates of “Washington” and inspired the “Panthers” for their first shootout victory in the championship. True, Jokinen ruined his attempt at the post-match lottery, but on Thursday he was fully rehabilitated with a winning puck in overtime. Moreover, in an additional five-minute period it was not someone who was broken, but the Dallas itself, a well-known minion of fortune. Since the suit has already begun, God himself commanded to beat the leader of the Tampa division. Without the goal of our hero, of course, again could not do. And “Florida” can be congratulated on a record fourth season win in a row. Say the cup train is gone? Jokinen doesn't think so.
TEAM OF THE WEEK
The leader of the Buffalo East Conference is like the ocean. And it’s not even the ninth wave of attacks, with which the team of Lindy Raff repeatedly washed away the sand castles of their rivals. The essence of the “blades” is the inexhaustibility of talents. The squad does not notice the loss of one fighter, then the second, third ... Saturday's victory over the “Toronto” the best club forged in the absence of eight bayonets at once! However, even this fact did not prevent the Sabers to close the week with six points out of six possible. And score at the same time 17 goals! Thanks to the Rochester Farm Club, which is growing a worthy shift in the American Hockey League. “I couldn’t even imagine how fast it is to play hockey,” Dainius Zubrus, a recent ally of Ovechkin’s Washington counterpart, remarked after Friday’s 8: 5 battle with Montreal. Well, the Lithuanian guy was incredibly lucky. It is hard to imagine what kind of car we will see when Chris Drury (concussion), Maxim Afinogenov (fracture of the hand), Yaroslav Shpachek (fracture of the arm), Ales Kotalik (knee injury) return to duty ...
TOPIC OF THE WEEK
Closing the transfer market overseas was expected with undisguised interest and anxiety over idols. Change is still in demand by fervent hearts, but, as you know, far from everything that is being done is for the better. Conservatives reveled in the calm before the storm and predicted relative calm on St. George's Day. Say, the ceiling of salaries and sharply jumped star prices will keep the army of the afflicted to strengthen at the expense of others. However, on the school day and hour, the last to laugh was the radicals. Despite economic difficulties, the Enkhaelov deck was shuffled no less intensively than a year ago. Over the past six hours of exchange fever, general managers have completed 25 deals involving 44 hockey players. Although not all were traded. For example, the New Jersey salary-tipped ceiling kept proud silence. It is not surprising: after all, the “devils” have so much free money now that, had Lou Lamoriello lit a cigarette, it would have barely been enough for a lighter ...
RUSSIAN WEEKS
Interrupting the five-match dry run, the forward of “Washington” Alexander Ovechkin scored points in three games in a row. Especially shocking for the Russians turned out to be a duel with “Florida”, in which he hit the target twice and scored a couple of times with assists. Goal plus pass in the assets of the striker were listed after the battle with Tampa. Yes, that's just the team from this is not any easier. The capital club lost both matches in overtime and reached the finish line of the week with only one victory in the last ten matches. As a result, Washington was hopelessly stuck on the 14th row of the conference table. And the backlog of the eighth “Carolina” reached a damn dozen points. Mission Impossible.
SHOCK OF THE WEEK
Captain Canada flew to America. The soul and heart of “Edmonton” Ryan Smith , faithfully serving the team for twelve seasons, went to conquer the hearts of New York fans. And although the Oilers general manager Kevin Lowe officially announced that exchanging a veteran for a couple of youth drafted in the first round but still not tasting the NHL plus the possibility of a high choice of young talents in the upcoming lottery is a “pure hockey decision”, do not believe him. There is another "oil" crisis. Smith and his agent demanded a five-year contract for $ 27.5 million. Low was about to fork out 27 million. The negotiations lasted eleven hours, but the ravines of 100 thousand "green" for the year has not been overcome. On Wednesday at Edmonton International Airport, the city escorted its glorious son on a new trip for the Stanley Cup. Ryan, unable to restrain his tears, sobbed on his wife's shoulder ...
BATTLE OF THE WEEK
Tuesday February 27th. Islanders - Philadelphia: Indian Chris Simon vs. Todd Refrigerated Fedoruk .
FIGURES OF THE WEEK
The 200th point in the NHL scored in a Friday match with “Carolina” the top scorer of the championship Sid Crosby. In principle, the summit is small, if not one but ... Namely, the phenomenal speed of its conquest. At 19 years and 207 days, Crosby became the fastest climber on this route in the history of the strongest league on the planet! The legendary Wayne Gretzky, with whom the Pittsburgh striker is constantly compared, closed the second hundred points on the goal + pass system at the age of 19 years 347 days.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“At first it was not easy, and I’m familiar with the manifestations of racism firsthand. But as soon as I ended up in the NHL, people began to respect more. Either they reacted with reverence to the role that I play on ice ... In any case, for me it’s a great honor to be an idol for an entire army of black boys. Well, I’ve got used to the fact that I’m constantly mistaken for a football player. It happened in Phoenix - the situation is the same in Pittsburgh. It’s the same everywhere. But I’m not offended and I’m not going to prove anything to anyone. Off site I'm completely different th man. A kind of teddy bear, "- Pittsburgh tough guy George Larack .
WAITING FOR THE WEEK
On Tuesday, for the fifth time in the championship, clubs were crossed by the leaders of the Detroit and Nashville Western Conference. So far, parity remains in the relations of irreconcilable rivals - two “wings” victories against two “predators” victories. The remaining four matches the clubs will hold in March. Apparently, they will decide the fate of the western crown. On Thursday and Saturday, a derby in Ontario, in which recent Phoenix teammates Yanik Perro and Oleg Saprykin will be on opposite sides of the barricades. The first, recall, joined the ranks of “Toronto”, and the second strengthened the composition of “Ottawa”. On Friday, Anaheim will receive Edmonton, which means that the ducks defender Chris Pronger will have another chance to prick the oilmen who laughed at him. Saturday evening, the relationship between the strongest teams of the East “Buffalo” and “New Jersey” will be sorted out.
CM. ALSO
Wednesday February 28th. “San Jose” - “Nashville”: Russian team goalkeeper Yevgeny Nabokov’s super save from the defeat in overtime, but didn’t save him from bullet surrender.