(courtesy of Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
Having led the league in victories this past week, Columbus Blue Jackets netminder Sergei Bobrovsky has helped backstop his team to playoff contention. Few picked Columbus to make the post-season having lost their heart and sole in Rick Nash last summer, yet thanks to a hot goalie they not only find themselves on a five-game win streak but also just four points shy of the last spot in the west.
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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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(courtesy of Getty Images)
With just hours to go until the 2012 NHL draft gets underway in Pittsburgh, the Philadelphia Flyers announced they had sent 23-year-old netminder Sergei Bobrovsky to the Columbus Blue Jackets. There had been much talk leading up to the draft that the Novokuznetsk native would be moved by GM Paul Holmgren and as luck would have it, the Flyers exchanged him for 3 draft picks on starting goalie Ilya Bryzgalov’s birthday.
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(Courtesy of Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
On a busy night in the NHL which saw the goalie tandem of Ilya Bryzgalov and Sergei Bobrovsky give up a combined nine goals, Evgeni Nabokov get yanked ahead of a shootout, Evgeni Malkin razzling and dazzling in said shootout, and Nikolai Khabibulin helping his team beat the undefeated Washington Capitals one man stood above the rest.
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If you plan to become rich in the NHL perhaps you should look into changing your name to Ilya. For the second consecutive summer, players with the name have seen big money and big contracts while coincidentally playing in the same division. Last year, it was the Kovalchuk saga which saw the then 27-year-old sign a 15-year $100 million with the New Jersey Devils. This year, Ilya Bryzgalov joins the fun, signing a nine-year $51 million deal with the Philadelphia Flyers a week before becoming an unrestricted free agent.
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(courtesy of CBC.ca)
While Artem Anisimov was busy beating the Sabres in overtime and Sergei Bobrovsky was brushing aside 35 shots in Raleigh, Alexander Semin scored his second hat-trick of the season and racked up 5 points against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
All of Semin’s goals would come in the third period, his first tally would come on the powerplay when his wrist shot seemed to pop out off and over Dan Ellis’s shoulder for his 10th goal of the year. His second would come from almost the same spot this time on a slapshot that would ricochet off a defensemen and past Ellis.
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Yesterday, yours truly had the opportunity to talk with Semyon Varlamov of the Washington Capitals after practice before their home opener. While having brief encounters with various Russian NHL’ers in the past this was the first one-on-one i’ve gotten to do with an actual player. Despite speaking fluent Russian my entire life there were moments I stumbled through only to be assured by Varly that I was doing fine and not to worry. There is video of the interview but seeing how it’s in Russian I’m not sure if I will upload it. Here is the interview below, enjoy.
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The Nyet Minder (cbc.ca)
The 2009-10 season is one the Edmonton Oilers want to forget as soon as humanly possible. Nikolai Khabibulin is no different, thanks to injury problems and off-ice troubles. But, as always when a new season begins, teams are reborn with a clean slate.
If first impressions tell anything, the Oilers and the Bulin Wall have a lot to look forward to in 2010. The 37-year-old nyet-minder from Yekaterinburg stopped all 37 shots he faced as he helped the Oilers shut out the rival Calgary Flames 4-0 on Opening Night. Playing in his first game since last November, Khabibulin looked to be in midseason form from the drop of the puck.
The NHL pre-season gets underway tonight with nine games on tap around the league. One that we are keeping our eyes on tonight is the New Jersey Devils vs. Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center which will feature the debuts of Devils winger’ Alexander Vasyunov and Flyers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Vasyunov was selected to travel with the Devils for their first game after netting the over-time winner in yesterday’s scrimmage.
The 22-year-old Yaroslav native who spent last season with the Lowell Devils where he scored 15 goals and added 13 assists knows head coach John MacLean sees potential in his game as MacLean coached the farm club before being promoted this summer to the NHL. Vasyunov admitted he was nervous in his first appearance with the team that drafted him in 2006, telling beat reporters “before the game, maybe 30 minutes. Especially then I will be nervous.” Vasyunov has twice represented Russia in the World U18 Championship and the World U20 Championship in 2006 and 2007 respectively.
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