Hockey
Ovechkin mocked his friend in an NHL match. And helped beat Carolina
Alexander won the duel against his former teammate.
Washington got off to a bad start to their four-game road series. The Capitals first lost to Pittsburgh (3:5) and then lost to Tampa (2:3). Currently, Spencer Carbery’s team occupies second-to-last place in the Metropolitan Division, ahead of only Columbus, and 14th place in the Eastern Conference. Alexander Ovechkin and his teammates will have their next meeting against Carolina.
Washington will face the Hurricanes for the first time since losing in the second round of the last Stanley Cup. For the capital’s team, this is a chance not only to improve their tournament position, but also to take revenge for being eliminated from the playoffs. The focus will also be on the duel between Ovechkin and Andrei Svechnikov. The confrontation between two Russian forwards began to cause a stir after the Capitals captain knocked out his compatriot in 2019.
However, there was one match where their rivalry faded into the background.
“It’s great to be back where it all started”
Until recently, it was impossible to imagine that Evgeny Kuznetsov, who played for Washington for almost 10 years, would change his club registration. But last year Kuznetsov moved from the Capitals to Carolina. And on March 22, 2024, Evgeniy took to the ice of the Washington Arena for the first time as a player of a non-capital club.
The Russian center forward had something to prove, first of all, to head coach Spencer Carbury, who sent him to the farm club. And the fans were waiting for him to start a fight with Ovechkin.
The captain of “Washington” was the first to make a move, greeting his compatriot already at the beginning of the starting segment of the game: during the game break, Alexander tripped Kuznetsov and dropped him onto the ice. The fans were delighted with what they saw and roared their approval. Evgeny also appreciated the joke and smiled, returning to the bench. And soon the Cuban arenas turned on a video of Kuznetsov’s goals and assists in the Capitals uniform.
“It’s great to be back where it all started.” Thanks to the fans for the applause. It was a good video. Every time I return here, it will be emotional, because here was my second home,” the Russian noted.
It wasn’t just the Carolina striker who got it from Ovechkin. In the 34th minute, the hosts’ leader converted the power play, hitting Peter Kochetkov’s goal and leveling the score – 2:2.
There was no answer from Kuznetsov, and the captain of the capital’s club did not stop there and scored an assist in the final period. During regulation time, the winner could not be identified in a high-scoring match – 6:6. The game went into overtime and then into a shootout.
Carolina head coach Roderick Brindamore gave Evgeniy the opportunity to upset the goalkeeper of his former club. Kuznetsov, in his signature style, took an endless amount of time to reach Charlie Lindgren’s goal, but the goalkeeper, who had studied the forward’s tricks well, did not allow his opponent to score. Ovechkin also failed to convert his attempt, but the Capitals still won thanks to Dylan Strome – 7:6.
Source: Sportbox
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