Vladimir BYCHEK
HERO OF THE WEEK
The confrontation between Vancouver and Dallas in the quarterfinals of the Western Conference, by and large, came down to a duel of two wonderful goalkeepers. One of them is the Canucks guard Roberto Luongo - even despite the debut in the playoffs, he has long and firmly staked out a place in the goalkeeper elite. Another ... Before the current cup campaign, Marty Turco had a reputation as a loser in relegation matches. Judge for yourself: the guard of the "stars" won only one series of four, reflecting the catastrophic 89.2 percent of the rolls ... April 2007 contrasts sharply with the inglorious past. Here, the percentage of saves is higher - 95.5, and the achievements are much more significant. Last week, “Dallas” for the first time in club history equalized in the series, in the course of which they conceded 1-3. And Turko has already handed down three “dry” matches, which before him, in the rich NHL record, only a dozen colleagues in the profession managed. Despite the fact that until this spring Marty never stood in the playoffs to zero in his career!
RUSSIAN WEEKS
Ottawa's 25-year-old defender Anton Volchenkov has pretty much spoiled the mood ... for Canadian fans. The paradoxical, at first glance, statement is explained simply: in the first round of the playoffs, a 106-pound Muscovite, nicknamed Train overseas, “moved” the prodigy of all of Canada, Sid Crosby. The strongest pair of defense of the “senators” Volchenkov - Phillips throughout the series with “Pittsburgh” densely took care of the youngest best scorer of the championship in the history of the NHL. In the last two matches, Crosby, with all the diligence, failed to score a point in the “goal + pass” system! As for Volchenkov, then, despite broken English, he is now perhaps the most popular person in Ottawa. Fans are impressed by the selfless manner of playing the Russian, who, by the way, has become the leader of the championship in terms of the number of blocked shots. And even if he scored only one goal - the team has someone to hit other people's gates without Anton.
TEAM OF THE WEEK
Everyone said that it would be an exhausting battle of equal opponents. San Jose made the difficult easy by turning the current Nashville series into an almost complete copy of last year. Comfortable 4: 1 does not even hint at difficulties. The defense of the “sharks" reliably guarded its water area. Evgeny Nabokov effectively dealt with “predators” that occasionally broke through the screen. A quick and physically prepared attack kept the puck in an alien zone and squeezed the maximum out of every half-moment. It didn’t work out everything: at least the depressing implementation of the majority is worth 2 out of 30. But the main thing is that the matches with the participation of San Jose looked! Pragmatism gave way to entertainment, and the fans did not remain in the loser. Therefore, most overseas surveys called the battle in this pair the most striking in the first round.
TOPIC OF THE WEEK
Judge not lest ye be judged. The controversial episodes in the third and fourth matches of the Buffalo series - New York Islanders and their interpretation in favor of the best team in the Eastern Conference brought the islanders' general manager Garth Snow and head coach Ted Nolan to white-hot. On Monday night, the referee, after consulting the Toronto office, counted Thomas Vanek as a goal phantom. The puck, reflecting off the skate of New York goalkeeper Rick Dipietro, disappeared behind the bar, and not one of the host of video reps convinced that she had completely crossed the line. On Wednesday, Toronto's headquarters reversed to take the goal of Ryan Miller. In the thicker number of players on the spot, the judges lost sight of the puck and stopped time a moment before it fluttered to the target with Brendan Witt’s light hand. Ambiguous events prompted Nolan to loud statements about the allegedly existing conspiracy against the Islanders in the NHL. Witt publicly announced that the whistle had not yet sounded at the time of the throw. However, Colin Campbell, head of the disciplinary committee, retorted with dignity: “The game stops when it stops in the judge’s brain, and not when it blows the whistle. The reaction time to the episode is not taken into account. " Well, if so, then the overseas pros urgently need to learn to read other people's thoughts.
SHOCK OF THE WEEK
37-year-old New York Islanders defender Sean Hill has been suspended for 20 matches for using illegal drugs. In principle, the failure of a doping test is not such a rarity in the world of sports. However, in the NHL this is the first case in two years of the anti-doping program. In Hill's case, there are still more dark spots than clarity. The league did not disclose the date when the veteran was tested, nor the timing of the appeal, nor the name of the substance found in his body. There is no doubt, “Toronto” and “Montreal”, who finished the championship with a point from the “Islanders”, puzzle over these issues. Ordinary hockey fans are left to be perplexed on another occasion. If, according to NHL officials, they take two samples from each league player during the season, then about three thousand were taken during the anti-doping program. Is Hill alone pierced?
BATTLE OF THE WEEK
Tuesday, April 17th. Minnesota - Anaheim: Brent Burns vs. Corey Perry. The hungry “duck” snatched from a heap is not the most delicious piece ...
FIGURES OF THE WEEK
1431 matches were held in the NHL championships by Atlanta captain Scott Mellanby, but the Stanley Cup was not there and is not on the veteran’s track record. Among the current league players, his path to the coveted trophy is the longest. On Wednesday, after a fourth defeat by the Rangers and an inglorious departure from the playoffs, the 40-year-old striker openly announced his retirement. “Ninety-nine percent. I still need time to think it over properly, but it seems the decision has been made, ”Mellanby said, utterly disappointed.
QUOTES OF THE WEEK
“If Zdeno Hara pushed me with his hands, he would almost certainly get a blow to the head. The league is closely monitoring attempts to inflict serious injuries. However, at the same time, this is a physical game, which means that all contacts in it should be welcomed. Therefore, players are primarily responsible for their own safety. They must protect themselves, ”NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman in an interview with National Post.
“Now you can relax and enjoy life peacefully. It’s good to have a week off, because we are all a bit nailed, ”Anaheim forward Teemu Selanne after completing the Minnesota series. You need to be careful in the statements. Everyone remembers what the eight-day vacation of the “ducks” turned into a year before the final of the Western Conference: having a good laugh at the Colorado, the Californians lost to Edmonton in five matches.
CM. ALSO
Wednesday, April 18th. “New York Islanders” - “Buffalo”: home defender Brendan Witt pushes the puck into the net. The referees do not record a goal. Was there a goal?