Weekly review 02/26/04 | Weekly review 02.19-25.02
Vladimir BYCHEK
HERO OF THE WEEK
With a growth of 175 centimeters, Chicago striker Jeff Hamilton is perhaps the most noticeable figure in the composition of the “black hawks”. In two matches of the last week, he put 7 (3 + 4) points in the scorer box and helped the outsider win the third victory in a row. Recall, no more than last season the American tried to gain a foothold in the Ak Bars Kazan. The mission failed miserably: without scoring a point on the goal + pass system in eight games, Hamilton was fired.
RUSSIAN WEEKS
Only on Friday at the mark of “166 minutes 7 seconds” the dry series of goalkeeper “San Jose” Yevgeny Nabokov was interrupted. The goalkeeper of the Russian national team improved his club achievement by more than 19 minutes, which, by the way, belonged to him. The twelfth consecutive start in the "frame" of the California team also says a lot about the current form of a native of Ust-Kamenogorsk. Moreover, on Sunday, Nabokov began another dry marathon, zeroing “Edmonton”.
TEAM OF THE WEEK
Even the ridiculous injury of a key defender could not lead off the course of the flagship of the Pacific Division. And without Chris Pronger breaking his big toe in training , Anaheim won three victories, strengthening the lead in the quintet.
PLACE OF THE WEEK
Every crime requires punishment. And if punishment is an even worse crime? .. On Thursday in the New York derby “Islanders” - “Rangers” Chris Simon almost left a cripple for the rest of his life Ryan Hallweg. Having received a concussion after a rough push aboard, the Indian was literally trying to cut off the head of the offender. A bit missed, but even the attempt was considered a disqualification of 25 matches. It is noteworthy that the incident occurred exactly on the third anniversary of Todd Bertuzzi's sadly memorable attack on Steve Moore. Unlike the latter, the Rangers tough guy was incredibly lucky: the case was limited to fourteen chin stitches.
BATTLE OF THE WEEK
And again Thursday, March 8th. “Boston” - “Minnesota”: fist showdown scorers Mark Savard (88 points in the championship) and Pavol Demitra (56). There was nothing to offend Marian Gaborik!
SWELL OF THE WEEK
Having suffered eight defeats in a row and having gained only one victory in the last thirteen games, “Washington” seems to have staked out 14th place in the Eastern Conference. But back in December, Alexander Ovechkin associates were in the playoff zone ...
DEBUT OF THE WEEK
For two and a half minutes of playing time, which fell to his share in the first Enkhael match, Czech David Kochi managed to pick up ... 42 minutes of a penalty! Tafgai the giant (198 cm, 108 kg) took part in three fights and almost broke the Chicago club record, owned by Chris Chelios - 51 minutes of a fine per night.
TOPIC OF THE WEEK
To be or not to be big hockey in Pittsburgh? Last week, the Pennsylvania-based soap opera underwent a couple of curious plot twists and hinted very transparently at an early denouement. On Monday, the Penguins released an open letter signed by Mario Lemieux, which directly accused the state authorities of reluctance to conduct constructive negotiations on the construction of a new arena. And this despite the fact that the poor team by overseas standards volunteered to pay 120 of the $ 290 million worth of the ice palace over the next 30 years! Frustrated by bureaucratic obstacles, Lemieux waved his hand at verbal agreements and again turned his eyes to Kansas City and Las Vegas, who were actively inviting themselves. In Kansas City, the arena will open by autumn, and local officials are ready to lease it to the “penguins,” and share all income with the club equally. Concerned by the tempting offer of competitors and the growing protests of fans, Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell and Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravensthal again invited Lemieux and his comrades to the negotiating table. No one knows how the next round of debate will end. But almost certainly he will be the last. Pittsburgh's current home, Mellon Arena, is 46 years old and will expire on June 30. Super Mario is not going to bum.
NOISE OF THE WEEK
Obsession with your favorite game in the Canadian hockey Mecca is akin to mass insanity. Therefore, the article about Alexei Kovalev in the Montreal newspaper La Presse produced the effect of an exploding bomb and almost certainly put an end to the long-term cooperation of the Russian with the club. At the epicenter of the scandal is the February interview of the striker of one of the Moscow radio stations, transferred to paper by the weekly Football. Hockey. La Presse translated the article into French, and everyone learned that: a) the Canadiens head coach Guy Carbonneau does not like Russians; b) in the team, each for himself - Europeans, Americans and Franco-Canadians are kept apart; c) self-esteem of the newcomers Francophones Lyatendress and Lyapierra ... Kovalev immediately declared that everything published was the result of a sick imagination of the avid journalists. He threatened to leave the team if the attacks in the press did not stop. The legends of “Montreal” and the current teammates stood up for his defense. However, no matter how much the rope twists, the truth remains nearby: not everything is alright in the Montreal kingdom.
FIGURES OF THE WEEK
For 18 consecutive matches, he scored points on the “goal + pass” system by Colorado forward Paul Shtastny. Last week, he successively broke the club’s rookie record set by his great father Peter Shtastny, and the Enhael achievement for newcomers to authorship Teemu Selanne. Thanks to the phenomenal spurt, the Slovak striker took second place in the list of young scorers and now is only seven points behind Evgeni Malkin. The fight for the title of the best newcomer has gained a new intrigue.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
"I can’t believe that three years have passed. It feels like I was playing hockey yesterday. It seems that I just recently lived a dream, and now I'm not doing anything to realize it. I’m just trying to regain my health. It’s hard when life changes so dramatically." former Colorado forward Steve Moore . On March 8, 2004, Bertuzzi knocked him out of the Enhael cage, and the 28-year-old is still trying to shell out the bully for solid material compensation. Moore sued, demanding $ 18 million. The victim’s parents will suffer another half “lemon” as compensation for “nervous shock and mental exhaustion”.
WAITING FOR THE WEEK
On Tuesday, Pittsburgh will host the formidable examiners from Buffalo, the strongest Eastern Conference team, at home. And on Wednesday, Malkin and his comrades will pay an official visit to the leader of their Atlantic division - “New Jersey”, which is only a point behind the “blades”. The West will continue to sort things out between the grandees of the Central Division - Nashville and Detroit. On Tuesday and Wednesday, new rounds of a crucial duel. We look forward to the smashing shots of the Dallas veteran Mike Modano. Now the striker has 499 goals in the championships of the strongest league on the planet, which means that the anniversary is just around the corner.
CM. ALSO
Tuesday, March 6th. “Vancouver” - “Tampa”: scoring double Jeff Cowan fans celebrated very original. Hurry to see the birth of tradition: offer sex!