The third and fifth round draft picks were the small price Vancouver paid for Nikita Zadorov in November. If only they knew what a monster he would become for them in the playoffs six months later!
The defenseman, who built his NHL reputation on tough play and powerful strength, has increasingly revealed his offensive potential in recent years. He remembers at least 14 goals last season, capped off with a hat-trick in the final game of the regular season. But almost no one expected Zadorov to make a breakthrough in these playoffs!
In 75 regular season games, Nikita scored six goals, a normal and average result for a defenseman not named Cale Makar or Quinn Hughes. In eight games of these playoffs, Nikita already has four goals!
Vancouver, although it won the Pacific Division, was not the favorite in the series with Edmonton. They score few goals, they had problems in the first round against Nashville and the team’s main goalkeeper was injured at the beginning of the playoffs. But the result is still decided on the ice, and in the first game the “orcas” unrealistically came back from 1:4 in the third period and took the lead in the series. Additionally, they left Connor McDavid without even a shot on goal, which happened for the first time in his playoff career.
Vancouver’s second goalie, Casey Desmith, returned for the second game, but Rick Tocquette did not change horses at the crossing. Latvian newcomer Artur Shilov has already shown that he is ready not only for the NHL, but also to fight and help the team in the most important part of the season. “Arthur kept us in the game. Goalkeepers don’t always play perfectly, but I think Shilov is a good option for the match, although Casey Desmith could have easily started,” the coach explained his decision.
The Orcas unexpectedly obtained the majority, although in these playoffs they are one of the worst teams when it comes to converting extras. Today they made their first attempt, opening the scoring in the fifth minute of the game. They couldn’t hold the lead for long: in the 11th minute the best power play in the NHL came into play and Leon Draisaitl shot Shilov at point-blank range.
Video rights belong to NHL Enterprises, LP. You can watch the video on the NHL website.
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Draisaitl is one of the top three players in CS history in terms of scoring 90 points.
The following goals also came against incomplete but even teams. Höglander and Ryan played two minutes at the same time at the start of the second half, the teams exchanged goals in a four-on-four format and, shortly before the second break, Zadorov took the floor. He shot from a horse from an impossible, almost zero angle, almost repeating his goal of the series with Nashville!
Video rights belong to NHL Enterprises, LP. You can watch the video on the NHL website.
Nikita became the first defenseman in Vancouver history to score four goals in eight games since the start of the playoffs. Additionally, in one and a half series he reached fourth place in club history in goals among defensemen in a single Stanley Cup. The record belongs to Ed Zovanovski (7 goals in 2003), Jeff Brown is in second place (6 goals in 1994) and Kevin Bieksa is in third place (5 goals in 2011).
Right now Zadorov is the best sniper among NHL defensemen! Today’s goal puts him ahead of Makar, Heiskanen, Montour and Morrissey. The stock of Zadorov, who will become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, is growing by leaps and bounds with each game.
But there were still more than 20 minutes to play and Vancouver couldn’t count on stopping McDavid indefinitely. With two assists in the first 40 minutes, the Oilers captain added a nice one-on-one goal in the third period.
Video rights belong to NHL Enterprises, LP. You can watch the video on the NHL website.
There was not enough time for the confrontation and the game went to extra time. In these NHL playoffs they are usually short, and today they also ended at the end of the fifth minute. Evan Bouchard shot at the goal and the puck, after bouncing off the skate of a Vancouver defender, bounced into the net. The series score is 1-1.
Video rights belong to NHL Enterprises, LP. You can watch the video on the NHL website.
