(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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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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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 the Russian Hockey Federation)
It’s come to our attention that we somehow overlooked this years upcoming IIHF Men’s World Championships. With that, let’s take a quick look at the Russian roster and the tournament which officially starts on Friday. Russia arrives in Sweden hoping to capture any kind of silverware as last year they were bounced by eventual champions Finland before losing to the Czech’s in the bronze-medal game.
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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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(courtesy of Getty)
If you’ve followed this website since it’s infancy, you know by now that the Comrade of the Night feature is reserved for the best Russian who racks up the most goals, points, or saves on a given night. Last night however, two of the biggest names in Russian hockey joined forces to help the wives and children left behind after the plane crash which took the Lokomotiv Yaroslalv team in early September.
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(courtesy of the Denver Post)
Capitals fans will most likely never forget their first unofficial introduction to Semyon Varlamov, the 20-year-old kid out of Samara, Russia who was called up (and in) to replace a video editor who hours earlier signed an emergency contract to sit in for injured goalie Jose Theodore. The same netminder who would make his debut the following night (a 32-save win) and later prove be a crucial reason in carrying the team to the second round of the playoffs.
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It’s rare that we award the ever prestigious comrade of the night award to more than one player but such is the case for Washington’s Alex’s. The Russian duo scored both goals in DC’s opening game tonight as they renewed their hostilities with the New York Rangers to start their quest for the team’s first Stanley Cup. Ovechkin helped knot up the game in the 3rd period when stuffing in Semin’s effort past goalie Henrik Lundqvist for his 21st playoff goal.
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