New York Rangers striker Artemi Panarin scored a hat-trick against Tampa (5:1). But Washington captain Alexander Ovechkin almost scored a double in the match against Nashville, but a goal was taken away from him.
Pains on ice – Panarin scored a hat-trick!
But just recently, on December 3, we wrote about how Artemy Panarin scored a hat-trick against San Jose. The month is coming to an end and Khlebushek is on a roll again – another hat-trick please! Now against Tampa. And again bricks of white bread fly on the ice in honor of a native of Korkino. Artemy fans even went to Florida!
Overall, the Rangers are doing well this season. And it’s not for nothing that the New York team is first in the overall NHL standings. She was raised there by Peter Laviolette, who was actually fired from Washington last season. And look, it was not the coach who turned out to be bad, but probably the management around him turned out to be unimportant.
Panarin played on par with Vincent Trocheck and Alexi Lafrenière. So they helped Khlebushka score the first goal in the second minute. Trocheck brilliantly controlled the puck, took it from his opponent and passed it to the far post. And to conclude, by throwing with a single touch from the knee, Panarin must still look for equals.
In the third period, with the score 3:1, an indescribable beauty happened. Artemy dribbled around his opponent, moved to the flank and, with a dashing diagonal throw, put the puck into the goal. The hat-trick happened already in the majority, in the 56th minute – again Panarin’s precise shot hit the goal.
Four shots – three goals. That’s the kind of person he is! In general, this season Khlebushek began to throw more often. And look, in the list of the best snipers in the league, he already occupies fourth place (23 goals), behind Brock Baser (24), Nikita Kucherov (25) and Auston Matthews (29). Panarin, who is aiming for the Maurice Richard Trophy, the award for the best sniper in the NHL, what do you think of the candidacy?
Moreover, Panarin has already scored 50 (23+27) points in 35 matches. If the regular season ends like this and the Rangers remain in first place, winning the President’s Trophy for the first time since 2015, Artemy could also receive the Hart Trophy.
Well, who in the league is more valuable than him? No, show me!
Askarov is number 171 on Ovechkin’s “victims” list
Now let’s talk about Alexander Ovechkin. After the Washington captain scored against Columbus (and it was December 21), three matches passed without a goal. It seemed like Ovi had started counting a new dry streak. But still, in the home game against Nashville, he scored, tying the score in the second period.
This goal turned out to be the most important. First, the pass to Ovechkin was given to Dylan Strome, who showed himself as a not entirely selfish center-forward, capable not only of scoring alone, but also of supplying shells to the lethal weapons of his comrades.
Second, Ovechkin scored from his signature desk – the left faceoff circle. Yes, the office has started working again! We have already forgotten when we saw such lenses from Ovi.
Third, and this is also important, Alexander the Great scored against Yaroslav Askarov, and this goalkeeper became the 171st on the list of his “victims”. Here too, a record is being prepared. Only Patrick Marleau (177) and Jaromir Jagr (178) have more NHL goaltenders who have allowed goals against a player. But excuse me, they played in the league until they were 45.
Why was Ovechkin’s goal taken away?
This is how Ovechkin scored his 829th goal, which places him 65 goals behind Wayne Gretzky’s record (894). And at the end of the third period, the Washington captain scored his 830th goal! But they didn’t count it, can you imagine?
Although it appeared that Ovechkin received a pass from John Carlson and hit Askarov’s goal with an irresistible wrist shot from the right flank. But Nashville head coach Andrew Brunette rose to the challenge and the puck was called away because Nic Dowd was interfering with the goaltender.
To be honest, I didn’t understand this moment at all. Even the commentator at the moment of the goal shouted: “Daoud made a magnificent screen, blocking the goalkeeper’s view. ” And Ovechkin himself went to punch his partners with his fist, without even suspecting that a Grinch from the refereeing body would take a goal from him on New Year’s Eve.
Well, where was the obstacle, you tell me? What if Ovechkin stopped one step behind Gretzky and that particular goal wasn’t enough to make him completely happy?
The match went into overtime and ended in a shootout. There, Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery sent Evgeny Kuznetsov and Ovechkin to try, but they did not score and Nashville eventually won (3:2).
Yes, it is also interesting to see how Carbury tries to revive Kuznetsov, who has failed to score points in nine consecutive matches! Now the coach has transferred Evgeny from the center to the wing, linking with Ovechkin and Strome. I have to say that with equal compositions, this combination didn’t look that bad, showing some interesting hockey. It would be worth leaving these three for a few matches. Listen, Ovechkin started scoring for a reason!
65 goals for Wayne Gretzky. It’s worth raising a glass of champagne on New Year’s Eve!
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.
