(courtesy of Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports)
It’s funny how quickly things can change in hockey. Whether a team drops out of a playoff spot after being in the top eight all season (see New Jersey), a one-team veteran dons another jersey (see Iginla, Morrow, Murray) or for the sake of this article, when a player goes from lackluster to what the kids call “beast mode”.
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(courtesy of Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)
With his fiance in the crowd and his best buddy opposite him on the ice, Alex Ovechkin exploded against the Devils on Saturday afternoon. The Capitals captain came to life against a dismal New Jersey team where he tallied his first hat trick of the year after not scoring in the past three games. Ovechkin opened the scoring for the Caps on the power-play in the second period when Mike Ribeiro found him wide open to slot past Johan Hedberg.
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Apparently, yesterday was the day all of hockey’s media decided to begin their predictions for the 2014 Olympic games in Sochi, Russia. From ESPN to Yahoo, both the USA and Canada has been the talk of the best international hockey tournament on the globe. Luckily, no one is yet talking about the hosts, the best national team in the sport, and the reason you all read this site.
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Thursday night saw five different Russian NHL’ers light the lamp for their respective teams. While they were all important to the teams involved, one players performance stood slightly higher than the rest. Heading into Thursday’s match-up against the Rangers, Evgeni Malkin and the Penguins were coming off an embarrassing loss at the hands of the Islanders in the ever competitive Atlantic Division. Just 1:27 into the game, Simon Despres found Malkin with a pass near the far right circle which the 26-year-old center rocketed past Henrik Lundqvist’s 5-hole.
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It seems that in the past few days there has been quite an uproar in the Devils fan community regarding their star winger Ilya Kovalchuk. Like many of his compatriots, Kovalchuk returned to the country where he learned to skate to continue playing the game he loves when the NHL hit it’s fourth work stoppage since 1992. Joining one of the Kontinental Hockey League’s top clubs, SKA St.Petersburg, he quickly became the team’s star and even took over as captain while scoring 42 points in 36 games.
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One of the most sought after free agents has finally put pen to paper with a team that few expected. Earlier today the Carolina Hurricanes announced they had signed Alexander Semin to a one-year deal worth a whopping $7 million. While it was clear early on he would not return to the Capitals as they had gave his number away for developmental camp few believed he would remain in the Southeast Divison.
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(courtesy of Harry How/Getty Images)
Last night, Evgeni Malkin was the toast of Sin City as he captured the NHL’s top honors in the most important awards an individual player can win. Malkin first appeared on stage out of the shadows holding the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the leagues top score, a trophy he had wrapped up prior to the start of the playoffs. Although he was the clear cut winner back in April the NHL waited until the award ceremony to present him with the actual trophy. Malkin became the first Russian to win the award more than once surpassing Alexander Ovechkin who originally won it in 2007-08.
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(courtesy of Andre Ringuette/HHOF-IIHF Images)
The big red machine is back. In what was a case of Déjà vu for many, yesterdays 6-2 thrashing by Team Russia against an inspired Slovakian team was an ode to the Soviet times. Back then Russia was not only the most feared country in the world but also instilled fear on their opponents on the ice. You won’t find the legendary names like Tretiak or Kharlamov on the backs of today’s squad but with their performance throughout this tournament these players have the ability to become something better.
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As the Washington Capitals equalized their semi-final series last night against the Rangers thanks in part to captain Alex Ovechkin, news this morning reached Caps land that their brightest future star won’t join the team come next season. According to the ever reliable Pavel Lysenkov of Sovsport, Kuznetsov has decided to stay in the KHL for not one, but two years.
(courtesy of Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)
On Sunday night when Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin launched himself into Pens’ Zbynek Michalek many wondered whether he would face disciplinary action from Brendan Shanahan. Earlier today they got their answer as the VP of player safety handed a 3 game suspension more commonly known as a Shanaban. His third suspension in his career, the hit was deemed dangerous not only because Ovi’s elbow made contact with Michalek’s head but also because he left the ice which is a big no-no in the NHL today.
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