I really liked the four CSKA goals yesterday at Parque de las Leyendas. This is just a standard for how to score in modern hockey. Let in all cases there are questions for the defenders and the St. Petersburg goalkeeper, but the opponent’s faults should still be able to use, and most importantly, make him, the opponent, make mistakes. In addition, SKA pleased us with a powerful third period – they managed to mobilize, score two laborious and at the same time beautiful goals. Then he brought the intrigue back to the game and kept it until the final siren.
There is only one question: why didn’t SKA reboot earlier? Right after the first break. Since it was already night in Moscow on the other hemisphere of the Earth, the “savage” did it in an exemplary manner.
Unlike Minnesota, who rested since Saturday, the Capitals played the second game in a row in less than 24 hours. And with the move from Long Island. True, there the Capitals received a huge boost of vivacity, having managed to snatch the victory from the Islanders (4:3) after extra time, burning on the way – 0:3. It is important that Peter Laviolette’s fighters found their way to success: strict frontal control with an extremely hard power play. Always toothy and inconvenient for “Washington”, the “Islanders” were simply not ready for this.
Photo Source: HC Washington Capitals
It was in this line that the hosts from the very debut began to thresh Minnesota. They did it with more or less success until the end of the match. At first, the guests were clearly shaking. Not surprisingly, they only bothered Lindgren three times in the first 20 minutes. While 13 shells flew at Gustavsson in the opposite frame, one of which, from Slovakia Fehervara with a convenient pass from Ovechkin, hit the target. Towards the end of the period, for the 811th time in his career, the Russian captain himself could distinguish himself after a solo breakthrough, but then Gustavsson was alert.
And then “Minnesota” staged a demonstrative beating of “Washington”, a kind of master class for SKA, how to break up unsuccessful fights from a position of strength with the help of a mirror. The “savages” simply took the owners by surprise. Those, obviously, considered the guests, like the “islanders” from the day before, to be despondent and depressed. Therefore, another victory is only a matter of technology.
But not. During the break, Dean Evason outlined to the wards a new headquarters directive: respond to pressure from “capital” – double, triple! That is, to present that very notorious mirror, against which, as a rule, especially offhand! – There is no antidote. Also, there are a lot of strong guys on the Minnesota team. A black Reeves thug is worth something!
Lyricists in the person of Kaprizov and Zuccarello gave way and initiative to physicists, and Laviolette carelessly fell asleep at this change. She having, as the owner, the right to the second release of players and seeing that the guests released queens for the kick-off in the second third, she kept Ovechkin’s first link in reserve. She decided that the Wilson trio, Reeves’ head tamer, would do a better job. And she miscalculated! For 50 seconds, the “capitals” did not leave their zone at all, until Spurgeon shot his nearest nine with one click from the blue line.
There, with the score 2:1, the second disc of the guests flew. And the victorious captain of “Minnesota” Spurgeon, at the end of the second twenty minutes, again put it from the blue line, only now in the far corner. In all three episodes, goalie Lindgren saw NOTHING, because he was completely covered by the wild player.
Photo Source: HC Minnesota Wild
That’s the whole naked truth of today’s hockey, SKA! Answer a blow with two, get on the penny, block the goalkeeper, hit, correct, finish off! There is no reception against junk. Point!
So what if Ovechkin, in the style of yesterday’s CSKA, staged another great goal, when the center forward capped off his speedy combination with a pass from Fehervara and Strom with an elegant flick of the puck to touch under the bar. Yes, beautiful goal. It reminded me of the spectacular attacks by Nesterov and Mingacheva. However, “Washington” by that time had already given up. He allowed the guests to speak to themselves from a position of power. Maybe because you ran out of gas?
Here are two attacks in five minutes, when the physicists of the “savage” rolled for a long time the tired “capital” under the ice in their zone, “Minnesota” and decided the outcome of the meeting.
Yes, it was a glorious felling! You don’t always see that in the playoffs. The guests responded to the Washingtonians’ 31 hits with 33! And although they lost on shots, 22 to 36, they deservedly won.
In Moscow, on the contrary, the advantage in target shooting among the SKA guests is 34 against 25. In terms of power moves, those from St. Petersburg were also successful – 25 against 19. But you should not hit with a open fist, but with a fist and at one point. And do not delay with the retribution until the opponent is ahead by three goals.
Doubt? Watch the second half of today’s match “Washington” – “Minnesota”.
