Fun time of day in the NHL. Ovechkin did not understand how Vasilevsky did not let him score

Fun time of day in the NHL. Ovechkin did not understand how Vasilevsky did not let him score

Dmitry Storozhev December 24, 2023, 11:30 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.

The Tampa goalkeeper stopped not only the captain, but the entire Washington team.

“Washington” is slowly becoming a team for which 60 minutes of play is not enough: in four of the five matches before the meeting with “Tampa”, the “capital” spent more than three periods, solving problems with its opponents in overtime or in post-game shootouts. Basically, the result was in their favor: the Capitals only lost to Philadelphia in these games, and in the last three cases they prevailed, being alternately stronger than Carolina, the Islanders and Columbus.

The victory in overtime of the meeting with the Blue Jackets was brought by Washington captain Alexander Ovechkin. Finally, his anti-record streak was interrupted: Alexander failed to score for 14 games and still did it, scoring at the moment most necessary for the team.

Related materials

Video

Finally! Ovechkin scores his 900th NHL goal, ending a terrible streak and launching a Hull legend

Overall, the Capitals still score incredibly few goals: while all East teams surpassed the 90 goals scored mark, before the game against Tampa, the capital team only had 76. Only the Sun scored fewer goals in the entire season. league. .-José”, and this is the worst team in the NHL right now.

Replenishing one’s account in a match against the Lightning, when Andrei Vasilevsky defends his goal, is an extremely problematic task, as confirmed on the ice. However, it was not easy for the Lightning to overcome Charlie Lindgren: despite the fact that midway through the first half the visitors took the lead, in the future the 30-year-old American goalkeeper would stop all the remaining shots. Regular and overtime, which Tampa had in total. The difficulty level is 20.

“Washington tested Vasilevsky’s strength much more often: in 65 minutes, local players made 34 shots on goal at the Russian goal. Like his rivals, only one was correct: Anthony Mantha tied the score at the beginning of the second twenty minutes. The puck also entered the Lightning net after Nick Jensen’s shot, but after the coach’s request, the referees declared it offside.

And a few minutes later, Alexander Ovechkin had one of the most realistic opportunities to put Washington ahead. The first shot was taken by his linemate Tom Wilson, after which Vasilevsky hit the puck with his pad in the direction of the capital’s captain. Ovechkin tried to beat his compatriot with a touch, but Andrei in some incomprehensible way managed to leave the goal intact in this episode. Alexander himself, it seems, did not understand exactly who, who, at the end of the game situation, approached Vasilevsky and exchanged a few words with him. It turned out to be a pretty fun time.

Video rights belong to NHL Enterprises, LP.

Andrey turned out to be stronger in the duel, which already developed in a series of post-match shots. Ovechkin shot third among Capitals players, but again failed to outwit Vasilevskiy. The only one of the site’s owners who managed to do so was Evgeny Kuznetsov, who, in his usual style, lulled the doorman’s vigilance.

Video rights belong to NHL Enterprises, LP.

Although Kuznetsov opened the scoring in the post-match series, this was not enough for the capital to win. For Tampa, Point and Hedman converted their attempts, giving the Lightning two points and returning them to the playoff zone. Now the teams have the same number of points, with the only difference being that Washington played four fewer games.