Andrey SenchenkoSport correspondentAll materialsEmail to the authorOne of the most Russian NHL teams will make noise in the new season. Pavel Buchnevich, Vladimir Tarasenko and Ivan Barbashev have already taken the lead roles. While the whole of Washington is waiting for goals from their idol Alexander Ovechkin, other Russian NHL stars organized a feast a thousand kilometers from the capital. Let Buchnevich, Tarasenko and Barbashev not enter the top 50 players in the league at the moment, they show themselves at the level of the best. «St. Louis Blues» was one of the last to enter the new season and delighted the fans who missed the team with a beautiful victory over «Columbus Blue» Jackets» (5:2). It was the Russians who ruled the ball. The entire star trinity of Buchnevich — Tarasenko — Barbashev (in that order) was recognized as the best in the match. There was not enough space only for Alexei Toropchenko. The 23-year-old Russian did not score points, but scored one shot, a block shot, an interception and five hits. The team congratulated Alexei in a special way in the locker room after the match. The young striker managed to recover from a shoulder injury by the start of the season, and not by winter, as was originally predicted. Buchnevich warmed up the crowd at a party inside the Enterprise Center. Pavel played his «musical part» in the debut itself. First, the stellar Russian knocked down Boone Jenner with a powerful force, and a moment later, with a powerful “vantimer” from the right face-off circle, he converted the majority, opening the scoring in the match. As American bloggers and journalists put it: «Buchnevich scored in the style of Ovechkin.» autostart=false» width=»540″ height=»360″>In addition to technique, accuracy and power of the throw, Buchnevich can easily compete with Ovi in terms of performance. Last season, Pavel set his personal best — 30 goals and 76 points. According to The Athletic forecasts, this year the Russian will aim for 40 goals.
