“Washington” Alexander Ovechkin could not build on success in the playoff series with “Florida”, but the captain of the “capital” found an opportunity to shine brightly even in a lost match. Ovi managed to deceive the goalkeeper of the Panthers, Sergei Bobrovsky, who did not expect such cunning from him.

But, despite Ovechkin’s elegant masterpiece, everything falls into place in the series.

Florida, which won the NHL regular season, was considered one of the favorites of the season long before the start of the playoffs. It was assumed that the club from Sunrise would not have problems in the starting series with Washington, but the Capitals began the confrontation with an unexpected away victory. But Ovechkin and Co. were not enough for two successful matches in a row – Florida confidently won the second home meeting, speaking in their usual style and scoring five goals to the opponent.

However, with the starting throw-in, Washington had a much more decisive attitude for the match – in the first period, he threw the opponent almost twice, but Florida managed to realize his chances. By the end of the period, she was leading 2-0, putting the Capitals in a catch-up position.

Photo: © REUTERS / Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

It was possible to close the gap at the beginning of the second 20-minute period, when Washington gained a numerical advantage. Ovechkin got down to business, who went on the ice in the majority brigade, received a pass from the left side and, waving in a corporate style, as if he was going to throw on goal, unexpectedly sent the puck to partner Niklas Backstrom, who was located closer to Bobrovsky’s possessions. Having received a pass from the captain, the Swedish forward managed to get the puck into the net.

A fake swing, especially if it eventually leads to a goal, always looks spectacular. In the NHL, Nikita Kucherov is especially famous for this, who likes to aim at the goal, so that later he can give out unexpected “assists” without looking.

But in the performance of Ovechkin, this is a rather rare technique, which, obviously, he uses only when there is a really serious opponent at the gate. For example, Bobrovsky. Ovi’s decision not to throw, but to pass, was surprising. By the way, Bob, by the way, met Backstrom’s attack fully armed, moving in time and covering the corner closest to the Swede. But he still found a loophole between the goalkeeper and the post.

Alexander Ovechkin / Photo: © REUTERS / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

Ovechkin’s cunning, which led to an elegant scoring masterpiece, will be remembered by Washington fans as the only bright spot in this game. Although the game was tied, Florida hit three more shots in the second period, almost destroying Washington’s chance to make the game. Even the active actions of the captain did not help: Ovechkin made the most shots on goal for the meeting – five, and really wanted to excel. In one of the attacks, he made such a powerful swing to throw that he could not stay on his feet, but managed to group in time, performing somersaults.

But the weak link that day was not Washington’s attack, but the goalkeeper’s line. Czech goalkeeper Vitek Vanechek did not have the best two periods, losing his place in the final 20-minutes to Russian Ilya Samsonov. Our goalkeeper was on a roll and in one period he saved 17 shots, which is three more than his colleague in all his playing time. Perhaps if Samsonov had taken the ice from the first minutes, Washington would not have dropped out of the fight for victory so early.

Photo: © Justin Tang / Keystone Press Agency / Global Look Press

With an equal score in the series, after two matches, the rivals move to the US capital, where they will again take to the ice on May 7.