Did the brothers change on New Year’s Eve?
This series looked amazing. 22-year-old Carolina forward Andrei Svechnikov has failed to score in 19 straight games.
And above all, nothing foreshadowed! The team is playing powerfully, “Carolina” is in second place in the league, just behind “Boston”. Svechnikov himself is fine too, and for some reason he was called up to the NHL All-Star Game in Florida.
But there are such moments in life when the puck does not fit in the goal, even if it cracks. The last time Andrei excelled was on December 30 in a game against Florida, and then it was like he was substituted.
More precisely, even such a joke has the right to life. Because suddenly the goalscoring talent burst out in his older brother, San Jose striker Yevgeny Svechnikov. He’s in the NHL in more modest roles, doesn’t get a lot of playing time. But since New Year’s, he’s scored four one-shot goals. It looked like Andriy had just given Evgeny his goalscoring talent for 50 days to improve his stats.
But it couldn’t last forever. And the game against St. Louis is just the right opportunity to break that boring streak. After all, the Blues have sold their main players. Vladimir Tarasenko is now with the Rangers, Ryan O’Reilly with Toronto. Such an order can be taken with bare hands.
Failed to score in lacrosse style
In the second minute, Andrey Svechnikov opened the scoring by scoring Jordan Binnington’s goal. In a quick attack, he simply ran across the field on the right flank, didn’t pass, moved to center and put the puck in the net with a nice wrist shot.
The second goal came in the eighth minute. Svechnikov picked up the ownerless puck that bounced off Binnington, carefully circled the goalie and hit the net again.
But the main hit could have been when Svechnikov grabbed the puck outside the frame and tried to get it into the net using his signature lacrosse trick.
It was Andrei who introduced him to the NHL. Previously, such a trick was also called the “Michigan goal”, but it was not used as often in North America. Someone else scored at student level. Svechnikov made this trick popular, after him now only lazy people do not score sticks.
True, this time Andrei did not manage to stand out. But there was no doubt who would be the first star of this game.
By the way, last season Svechnikov set a personal record, scoring 30 goals. Now he has 21 goals, and it is quite possible to reach thirty. So all is not so bad.
At the same time, it must be said that Andrei Svechnikov is only 22 years old, but he has already spent his fourth season in the NHL with 20 goals.
In Carolina history, there were only four such players who, under the age of 22, played four seasons with 20 goals. They are Sebastian Aho, Ron Francis, Sylvain Turgeon and now Andrey Svechnikov.
So, in principle, the Russian striker is on the right track. In this championship, he scored 49 (21+28) points in 56 matches with a +3 utility. And that 19-game scoreless streak is worth forgetting.
Andrey Svechnikov: ‘I wasn’t worried about not being able to score’
– Can you say that after the first dropped puck, it was like a mountain had fallen from your shoulders? — asked Svechnikov after the game.
– I’ve said many times that it doesn’t matter how many goals you score, but every goal you score gives you a little bit of confidence. You’re trying to push back to score more, to create more scoring chances. That’s what I did today.
— Are you generally confident in your game? Yes, there were no goals, but you scored points.
Yeah, I didn’t worry about that. I know what kind of player I am. And if I don’t score now, then in the next games I can score some goals. I’m happy to have managed to do a double today. But we managed this game and we have to move on to the next game.
– Carolina is second in the league, and it seems that you, in such a good team, should score a lot.
— Yes, I have a good chance in every game. And if you can’t score, that shouldn’t bother you.
What do you think of your attempt to score a goal with the signature lacrosse trick?
“See, I haven’t scored in so long that I decided to give lacrosse a try. There was an attempt, yes. But I couldn’t see very well and was controlling the puck there. After doing a double, I was on the edge, a chance presented itself. I decided to try – well, I tried. But he didn’t score.
Do you like the fan support?
– Yes, I heard them from the stands – it’s a special moment. They helped me today.
Did your trip to the NHL All-Star Game help you?
– Yes definitely. We had an incredible weekend, we had been waiting for it for a long time. I really enjoyed this moment. There we managed to relax, reboot and return to the season with fresh energy.
NHL. Regular season
Carolina Hurricanes (Raleigh) – St. Louis Blues (St. Louis) – 4:1 (2:0, 1:1, 1:0)
Goals: Svechnikov, 1:26, 7:57. Ah, 36:36. Jarvis, 42:25. — Popular, 23:59.
Source : MatchTV
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
