“It’s the last game of the season, play with pleasure.” The mother of hockey player Kulikov said her son’s parting words during the Stanley Cup final

Irina Kulikova, mother of a defender “Florida” Dmitry Kulikov told how she prepared the hockey player for the decisive match of the season in NHL .

Russian hockey players Sergei Bobrovsky, Vladimir Tarasenko and Dmitry Kulikov won the 2024 Stanley Cup as part of Florida, which defeated Edmonton in the seventh game of the NHL playoff final with a score of 2:1 and won the trophy for the first time in history. .

In the main match of the season, Kulikov prevented the Panthers from missing a goal and launched a scoring attack that ultimately led to the winning goal.

— Congratulations on Dmitry’s victory and on the end of the season: now the sleepless nights are behind us.

– That’s for sure (Laughs). Especially on match days there are sleepless nights. Whether you watch the games or not, you still can’t sleep.

— What were your emotions following Florida’s Stanley Cup victory?

– Just joy for Dima! He had been going in this direction for a long time, and you know, the path was not easy. I am extremely happy for him that everything is working out this way. Overall, he had a very successful year: the season went well and the playoffs were generally excellent.

And we talked to him on game day, even though he usually never calls before the game. And then I called, apparently the last game of the season, and there were emotions. He said to me: “What should I do? » I said, “Well, what should I do? Get out on the ice and have fun! And don’t think about that Stanley Cup at all. It’s the last match of the season, play with pleasure.” And I wished the same to the whole team. Thank God everything went well.

— Many parents cannot watch important games because of anxiety.

“I’m one of those parents too.” I didn’t watch the match, it was only later that my daughter and son-in-law told me they had won. I put my phone away so I wouldn’t be tempted to find out the score. Usually I worry about every game of the season, but this is a special case.

Dima immediately called as soon as he could pick up the phone. We talked a lot, he showed us how everything happens in their arena. Well, it’s just happiness! It can’t even be explained and words can’t describe how happy and excited everyone was. Not everyone’s career turns out that way. We received so much emotion that no one could even sleep afterwards.

In general, I’m extremely happy for the whole team, for all the guys, they’re all great guys, they’re all worth it. I communicate closely with some parents of players. For example, with the mother of Alexander Barkov.

—Was there a lot of congratulations?

– Just a wave of congratulations. Many people I don’t even know wrote to me on social networks, as well as friends, relatives, people who have nothing to do with hockey, and neighbors from Lipetsk congratulated me. Everyone is happy: parents, acquaintances, friends, sister, brother-in-law. The nephews, however, do not yet fully realize that Dima won the Stanley Cup; they just have one reaction: “Wow, the cut. » There were congratulations all day. Everyone is happy and happy for Dima. Anyone who knows him knows what a hard worker he is. And I mean it’s a hard-earned cut. Difficult career.

—What were you thinking when the series score became 3-3?

“When we lost the first game, I thought nothing bad had happened. When they lost the second game, I already said to Dima: “Well, did you fall asleep? What are you doing here?” (laughs). And the third game, when they lost, I supported him. I say don’t be discouraged, that’s how it happens. You are worthy, you will definitely win, but you have to pull yourself together. She told him: “There will definitely be a cup, don’t even think about it… I believed in victory. the whole team was not in the mood. It was difficult emotionally to lose three matches in a row. But we found ourselves, well done! — Irina Kulikova told .

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