After the defeat in a fundamental and very important in terms of standings against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Washington Capitals players got a few days off to prepare for another direct competitor in the fight for a place in the playoffs of the National Hockey League. The New York Islanders came to the US capital to join Peter Laviolette's team.Even before the match with “Washington” all the main cards were in the hands of the “islanders”. “Islanders” had a significant margin of points on the background of the “capital” and were in the top eight of the Eastern Conference. Position “Caps” in the dispute for the much coveted wild card were disproportionately low. In addition, one of the best goalkeepers of the season, Ilya Sorokin, came to Washington together with the Islanders. It was he who started the match in the starting lineup of the guests, which was a great help in the question «Will Alexander Ovechkin score today?» We give the answer right away — no, Ovechkin did not score and could not extend his hitting streak, which eventually amounted to seven games in a row.
And Ovi's moments for distinguishing himself today were good. Back in the first period, the Russian captain of “Washington” struck a cool wrist shot from the left faceoff circle and aimed at the far “nine”, but hit the crossbar. If the puck flew a few centimeters lower, it is not a fact that Sorokin would have caught her in his trap. Ovechkin also got a great chance to score in overtime, when he went essentially one to zero. But the Russian goalkeeper, “Islanders” came out victorious in close combat.
““Can I imagine how I will reflect Ovechkin’s killer shots? I felt their strength, accuracy and speed back in 2016 in training during the World Championships in Moscow. Last year we crossed again in Bratislava. So there is experience,” — Sorokin said a few years ago in an interview.
But in the NHL, Ilya still remains an impenetrable target for Ovechkin. Including today's match, the Russian goalkeeper has played five games against Washington in the regular season and twice met with the leader of the Caps face to face. Never missed.
Today, Sorokin took the puck out of his own net twice and did it after throws from other players in the “capital”. In the second period, the Russian was beaten by Conor Shiri, and already in the shootout at the end of regular time and overtime — after the trick of Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Russian star forward of “Washington” this season shoots in one slow-mo style and converted five out of six attempts into a goal. Only in the match against the “Devils” Kuzya hit the woodwork. It was Kuznetsov in the game with the Islanders who became the only hockey players of the host team who broke through Sorokin in shootouts — TJ Oshi and Niklas Backstrom did not cope with the goalkeeper of the Islanders, and the more accurate Islanders took the victory with them.
>This victory was doubly important for the club's fans from New York. First, Lane Lambert's wards increased their chances of participating in the Stanley Cup. Secondly, beating the Washingtons became a matter of principle precisely because of Ovechkin.
Blame the episode that happened at the end of the third period. Ovechkin is known not only for his powerful and accurate shot, but also for his power struggle. According to hits, the Russian is in the top three in the Capitals. Today, he added five more power moves to his asset, to which the Islanders hockey players contributed to some extent themselves, from the first minutes of the meeting denoting a tough and attentive fight personally according to Ovi.
Among Ovechkin's victims was Canadian defender Adam Pelek. The Russian firmly pinned the opponent to the side and, it seems, injured his back. After the collision, Pelek immediately writhed in pain and with difficulty reached the bench of his team, which was a few meters away from him. performed by Ovechkin. There are countless angry and even overly rude comments about the Russian sniper. Here are some of them available for print:
- «Great. Now Pelek is injured due to Ovechkin's hit,» he tweeted user with nickname @VoiceIslanderFn.
- «Ovechkin played very dirty but avoided deletion,» added @IceWarsNYRvsNYI.
- «God, Ovechkin almost killed that guy» , said @NHLDynastyGM.
- «Alexander Ovechkin is a top notch dirty player,» says @weatherbearRSC.
- «Ovechkin killed two Islanders players this season. First Pajo, now Pelek. Will anyone deal with him?» asks @Nick_Drizis, recalling an episode from the January match.
- «I want to see Ovechkin fall on the ice and can't get up. To hell with politeness and rules,» @ resents jeffrey_melcer.
- «I can't wait for Ovechkin to quit and end his career,» @BigMEMath concluded.
However, all this is just a manifestation of emotions. Although Pelek endured pain, he continued the game, played in overtime, and at the end of the meeting he told reporters that he was feeling well.