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Ovechkin does not participate in the World Cup. “Ovechkin will come to the World Cup again…” How Washington was defeated (video)

At the beginning of this week, it became completely clear that the three main Russian scorers in the NHL would not be able to help the national team at the World Championships in Denmark. Alexander Ovechkin's Washington and Nikita Kucherov's Tampa Bay will continue their campaign for the Stanley Cup in the conference semifinals, and Evgeni Malkin, after Pittsburgh's elimination from the playoffs, decided to take care of his own health. Sport24 explains why the absence of the three main stars will benefit the national team.

Alexander Ovechkin

To begin with, the captain of the Capitals should be congratulated and rejoiced for him. Everyone is well aware that Ovechkin has been waiting for a long 13 years to reach the conference finals, but only the hockey player himself knows how difficult this expectation was. Washington and its captain have had different seasons - in some they were considered the main favorites, in others they were considered as underdogs. But, regardless of expectations, everything always ended the same way - one of the NHL frontmen never went beyond the second round of the playoffs. And here it is, the long-awaited breakthrough! A breakthrough that Ovechkin, let's be objective, deserved.

("Washington Capitals" - US team)

One of the leaders of "Washington" has already taken part in world championships three times before - in 2009, 2010 and 2013. Moreover, he played in the vindictive quarterfinals, where the Russians lost with a score of 3:8, and even scored the Americans' second goal in that meeting. Oshie is currently having the highest scoring season in the NHL. The decisive battle for him and the “capital” will take place on the night of Monday to Tuesday in Pittsburgh, where the “caps” will try to transfer the series to the seventh match.

("Washington Capitals" - Russian national team)

There is a lot of controversy about the need to call Alexander to the Russian national team in the event that Washington leaves the Stanley Cup, and each side presents its own arguments. Note that Ovechkin always came to the team on the first call, regardless of the state. The year 2013 is memorable, when Ovechkin played for the national team in the quarterfinals with the US team two days after his club devastatingly lost to the New York Rangers and flew out of the playoffs, and during a transfer at the London airport, the hockey player lost his bag with clubs. This season is not the best in Oleksandr's career, but his possible arrival will definitely strengthen Oleg Znarok's team.

Evgeny Kuznetsov (Washington Capitals - Russian national team)

The beginning of the season for the pupil of the Chelyabinsk hockey was not very successful. The game in the troika with Ovechkin did not go well with him. But as soon as Barry Trotz transferred Evgeny to another combination, things went uphill for him. With his direct participation, Washington turned the tide of the fifth match of the series with Pittsburgh, and now something similar is expected from Evgeny in the sixth battle. However, Kuznetsov has already said in an interview with Sport-Express that in the event of a team departure, he is ready to fly to the national team on the very first flight.

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Niklas Backström (Washington Capitals - Sweden national team)

Like Oshi, Backström has had one of his best seasons so far. In January, Niklas made his 500th assist in the NHL, for which he was awarded a golden stick. AT recent times the Swedish forward is an infrequent guest at the world championships. The last at the moment for him was the championship of the planet in 2012, which took place in his homeland.

("Washington Capitals" - Team Canada)

Holtby has not played in the world championships so far. Moreover, he was in the application of the Canadian team for the World Cup and received a gold medal without playing a single minute in the tournament. A possible arrival at the location of the national team will be a new experience for Brayden, which should not be neglected. Winner of last season's Vezina, this year Holtby is again on the list of contenders for the title of the best goaltender in the NHL, although it will be difficult to beat Sergey Bobrovsky in this competition.

Russia and Canada will be the first. Forecast for the 2017 World Cup group stage

The national teams of Russia and Canada will win their groups, and the Swedes and Finns will become the second. We place the teams in places and select the strongest.

Jori Lehterya (St. Louis Blues - Finnish national team)

The current season turned out to be the worst in the NHL career for the Finn. The former head coach of the team, Ken Hitchcock, also spoke about this during the championship, noting that he needed to improve. Compared to the regular season, his playing time has slightly decreased, but his efficiency has increased. Lekhterya - at one time played a lot in the national team, but did not appear there since he left for the NHL.

World Cup 2017. Team Finland. Will Aho and Puljujärvi “fire up” without Laine?

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Alex Pietrangelo (St. Louis Blues - Team Canada)

As always, this year the Blues player is extremely productive. So in the series with Nashville, he has already managed to distinguish himself three times. True, this did not help his team to go further. Alex is one of the best attacking defenders in the NHL, so his possible arrival in the camp of the Canadian national team will be a serious strengthening.

Protective lines of the 2017 World Cup. Russia bets on the KHL, the Swedes on the NHL

The Starship Troopers of the Swedes from the NHL, 7-8 Russian defenders from the KHL and the Olympic champion for Canada are in the ranking of the defensive lines of the 2017 World Cup.

Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers - Team Canada)

The young Canadian tried on the captain's armband of his club, and this fact was marked by two joyful events at once. Firstly, in the first full-fledged regular season played without injuries, he was able to knock out a hundred points, and secondly, his Edmonton reached the playoffs for the first time in ten years. For the "oilmen" everything will be decided in the seventh match of the series with "Anaheim".

World Cup 2017. Team Canada. Without McDavid, but with the hope of new gold

John Cooper's team is full of ambition to defend the championship titles in 2015 and 2016, although there are no superstars in their lineup this time.

Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers - Germany national team)

McDavid's partner had a brilliant season, scoring both the World Cup and the Olympic qualification, dragging the German team to the 2018 Games. Yes, and in games for the club, Leon was extremely good. It is a matter of honor for the Germans to persuade him to come to the World Championship in the event of the departure of the Oilers, because the tournament is hosted by them and the arrival of the main star of German hockey is a real stimulus to increase the popularity of this game in the country.

What could motivate Perry to help the national team again? Certainly an opportunity to improve achievement list

("St. Louis Blues" - Russian team)

The Blues' attacking leader certainly didn't count on his team being knocked out in the Stanley Cup quarterfinals after his team was one step short of reaching the finals last year. But despite his efforts, it still happened. In the last game, a native of Yaroslavl made a scoring pass, but this was not enough. There are still three places left in the application of the Russian national team, and there is no reason why Tarasenko may not be taken to the team.

Silent blues. “St. Louis” flew out, will Tarasenko come to the World Cup?

Nashville reached the conference finals for the first time in history, leaving behind the bluesmen Vladimir Tarasenko. Will he come to the World Cup?

(New York Rangers - Sweden national team)

The Swedes have gathered quite a powerful team even without Lundqvist, and his possible arrival will make its defensive line more impenetrable. One of the best goalkeepers in the world of the last decade has become one of the main, if not the main, factors in the victory of his club in the series with Montreal, which even the head coach of the opponent Claude Julien noted, saying that his players ran into the Swedish goalkeeper. Lundqvist has not played at the world championships since the distant 2008. Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim Ducks - Team Canada)

The captain of Anaheim, permanent for the past seven years, this season is leading his team to at least repeat the success of two years ago - getting into the semifinals of the Stanley Cup. And the "ducks" could complete this task in the sixth match of the series with "Edmonton", but were defeated with a score of 1:7. Ryan is not one of those players who used to disdain the World Cup, which means that if his team loses in the seventh match, we may well see him on the ice rinks of Paris and Cologne.

("Anaheim Ducks" - Team Canada)

Perry is Getzlaf's longtime partner in Anaheim. Corey won everything possible: the Stanley Cup - in 2007, two Olympic gold medals - in 2010 and 2014, and also became the world champion at the world championship in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Moreover, at that championship he was the captain of the Canadian team. What could motivate the 31-year-old hockey player to help the national team again? Definitely an opportunity to improve your track record.

("Anaheim Ducks" - Swedish national team)

The 2012 world champion among youth teams has never played in adult planetary forums before. A trip to the championship of the planet - why not an opportunity to loudly declare yourself at the adult international level? There are still a few empty spots in the Swedish team's application, so theoretically both Lundqvist and Raquell will be able to play for "tre krunur".

"Washington" destroyed with a score of 2:6. This Pittsburgh is so great that the outcome of the main series of the NHL is clear now.

Very soon, somewhere in a week, the Russian team can keep in mind the five miracles for the World Cup.

Alexander Ovechkin - Evgeny Kuznetsov - Nikita Kucherov

Dmitry Orlov - Ivan Provorov

Well, or something like that. This will be the 13th World Championship for Alexander the Great, and he will repeat the eternal record of Vladislav Tretiak. No one else has played in this tournament in the history of our hockey. And ahead - a new goal. The all-time record is held by Swiss defender Matthias Seger (16). But Sasha is only 31 years old, and he still has a long way to go.

It hurts to admit, but Washington has no chance in a series with such Pittsburgh. It used to be a two-headed dragon (Crosby - Malkin), but in the playoffs it grows more and more new heads: Kessel, Fleury, Guntzel ... Some kind of monster.

If you count on the grid, then everything goes to the dream final for North America, when Pittsburgh and Edmonton will play the Stanley Cup. Crosby vs McDavid - what could be better?

Well, we wish Alexander Ovechkin to win the World Championship. This scenario is repeated year after year, and nothing changes. That's what we saw in this match?

"Washington" again organized the starting pile: 16 - 5 on shots in the first period. It was important to score the first goal, build on the success. But it turned out 0:0 on the scoreboard, and the goalkeeper Marc-Andre Fleury played like a young Tretiak.

The second period, like two days ago, began again with the fact that Pittsburgh caught the hosts on the loss of concentration. Matt Cullen ran shorthanded and scored a goal.

It was the removal of Jack Guntzel that hooked TJ Oshie. Still, this is the majority of "Washington" scored. I must say that in that moment Alexander Ovechkin gave a wonderful pass.

But at the end of the period, Phil Kessel scored. And here you come to an indescribable delight, how great Sidney Crosby played when he got the puck on the left flank and entered the zone, having made an inimitable skate-puck-skate feint surrounded by three opponents. Kessel was alone on the right, and when he received the pass, no one prevented him from scoring.

But even Crosby blocked shots twice. He went under the puck at 2-1 to keep the lead. Yes, it was Sidney Crosby's 52nd playoff game where he scored more than one point. And he overtook SuperMario himself in this indicator - this is a club record. The owner of Pence, Mario Lemieux, smiled contentedly from the box, watching his team smash Washington.

Güntzel's double, Kessel's double. The judges at first did not count Evgeni Malkin's goal, thinking that he interfered with the goalkeeper. But we studied the review and showed it to the center - there was a goal. Malkin is great too. Scored 2 (1 + 1) points, retained leadership in the list of top scorers of the Stanley Cup.

And the Washington goalkeeper was already different - after the third goal, Braden Holtby went to the reserve, Philipp Grubauer came on instead - and missed two. The sixth flew into the empty net of the Capitals, although the goalkeeper could not be removed.

The worst thing for Washington is not that the team started the streak with two home losses and ended up on the brink. It's that all of this (2-6, Cullen's shorthanded goal, the alien Crosby, Holtby's replacement, the multi-headed dragon) dealt a terrible blow to the confidence of the Capitals players.

They already had questions about the composition. For example, star guard Kevin Shattenkirk, who was recruited under the deadline, scored 0 goals in eight playoff games and received a -7 for utility. The series with Toronto turned out to be stubborn and exhausting. But now Pittsburgh just takes out Washington. It's a shame for Ovechkin...

But this feeling, a couple of days after the departure of the Caps, will dull, be forgotten. It's familiar, not spicy anymore. And we will again rejoice at how Alexander the Great plays at the World Championships.

To each his own. And who said it's bad?

SCOREBOARD

Washington - Pittsburgh - 2:6 (0:0, 1:3, 1:3)

Niskanen (OVECKIN), Backstrom (OVECKIN) – Cullen, Kessel, Guntzel (2), Kessel (MALKIN), MALKIN

AT: Ovechkin (0+2; -2, 0, 3, 23.19)

Kuznetsov (0+0; -3, 0, 3, 18.10)

Orlov (0+0; -1, 0, 1, 18.51)

AT: Malkin (1+1; +1, 2, 3, 14.23)

Series score: 0-2 (2:3, 2:6)

The match between the national teams of Russia and Denmark is from this opera. The beginning of the meeting, and the entire first period as a whole, turned out to be quite calm. The Russians, as expected, played the first number, and the Danes defended, and they did it successfully. Had a good moment Dadonova, but his shot from close range Sørensen beat off with a trap.

The second dvadtsatiminutka began with a lethal situation at the Danish gates. Andronov shot at Telegina, who had only to correctly adapt to the puck and deliver an accurate shot, but Ivan failed to do either one or the other. Wards Oleg Znarka pressed, and, in the end, their efforts were crowned with success. At the 35th minute Kiselevich received a pass from Panarina, threw from an average distance and opened the scoring. And here the Russians broke through. Literally fifteen seconds after the first goal, Plotnikov, being all alone at the gates of Sorensen, received a pass, outplayed the goalkeeper and sent the puck into the net. And a minute later, Gusev took advantage of the rebound from the goalkeeper and drove the projectile under the crossbar.

In the third period, nothing has changed significantly. The Russian team won with a score of 3:0 and topped the table of group A.

Znarok: he called Ovechkin to the national team even with an injury

The head coach of the Russian national team Oleg Znarok spoke about the victory over the Danes and explained why Alexander Ovechkin would not come to the 2017 World Cup.

Ovechkin will not come to the World Cup, Kuznetsov and Orlov will strengthen the national team

The captain of the Washington Capitals will not play in the 2017 World Hockey Championship for the Russian team. This was reported to the "Championship" in the press service of the national team.

Team Alexandra Ovechkina, Evgenia Kuznetsova and Dmitry Orlov The Washington Capitals lost 2-0 to the Pittsburgh Penguins at home in the Eastern Conference semifinal series decider and lost 3-4 in the series.

Ovechkin will not be able to help the national team at the World Cup due to a lower body injury. The headquarters of the national team contacted three Russian players of "Washington", and they all agreed. However, Ovechkin, in an interview with coaches, said that he always came to the national team at the first call and is ready to do it now, but does not want to let the team down, as he finished the playoffs on painkillers.

Two other Russians from Washington, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov, will soon join the national team.

“It’s a pity for Sasha, but Kuznetsov and Orlov are a serious reinforcement for the national team”

Kucherov feels sorry for Ovechkin, Tretiak hopes for the health of Orlov and Kuznetsov, Panarin is happy for Vasilevsky, and Dadonov has not forgotten English.

norwegian gambit

The match between the teams of the Czech Republic and Norway turned out to be much more stubborn. Both teams failed to open an account in 60 minutes of regular time. As expected, the Czechs were much closer to this, throwing their opponents three times, but a real wall grew in their goal in the face of Lars Haugena. The former goalkeeper of Dynamo Minsk rescued his partners in the most incredible situations, and for a long time the Czech forwards did not understand how to break through the goalkeeper who had caught courage.

The first and only one who succeeded was the striker of Magnitogorsk Metallurg Jan Kovar. At the beginning of overtime, the Czechs fled to the counterattack 2 to 1. Yerzhabek led Pastrnak to a rendezvous with Haugen. The Boston forward failed to beat the goalkeeper, but managed to pick up the puck and give it to the oncoming Kovarzh. From the first time, he also failed to break through the goalkeeper, but Jan played on the rebound, and the puck literally crawled into the Norwegian gate. Thus, the Czech Republic won and came third in their group.

The French almost created a sensation again

In the main match of the day in the Paris group, the hosts of the tournament - the French team - hosted the Canadian team. And here are the wards Dave Henderson, who have already presented one sensation in the championship, having defeated the Finns, almost surprised the hockey community for the second time. The account, quite expectedly, was opened by the founders of hockey - did it Ryan O'Reilly. That's just further events began to develop not at all according to their plan. In the middle of the starting game segment Olivier Dame Malka leveled the position, and in the debut of the second period Damien Fleury and completely brought the Fifth Republic team forward. The French have successfully played too much.

The former goalkeeper of Dynamo Minsk rescued his partners in the most incredible situations, and for a long time the Czech forwards did not understand how to break through the goalkeeper who had caught courage.

The sensational score held almost until the second break, while Claude Giroud from transmission Chris Lee did not compare. At the beginning of the third period Mark-Eduard Vlasich, who recently arrived at the location of the Canadian team, upset for the third time Floriana Hardy. With this score, the game ended. Canada topped group B, but the French are only two points away from fourth place, which means that they still compete for the playoffs.

The implementation of the majority let Latvia down in the match with the Swedes

The national team of Latvia has managed to render worthy resistance to Swedes. Landeskog in the 10th minute he opened the scoring, and for a long time he kept in this form. Moreover, the Latvians had enough chances to equalize it. Team Bob Hartley twice had the advantage of 5 to 3, but could not realize it. At the beginning of the third period, the Swedish national team played in the minority for almost ten minutes, but Latvia had obvious problems with the extra play. Punished them Lindholm, who successfully played on finishing moves and put an end to the match. 2:0 - Sweden beat Latvia and thanks to this victory they moved up to the playoff zone, finishing fourth in group A.

Wards of Dave Henderson, who have already presented one sensation in the championship, defeating the Finns, hardly surprised the hockey community for the second time.

Henrik Lundqvist will strengthen the Swedish national team

New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist will take part in the 2017 Ice Hockey World Championship. This was reported on the official website of the Swedish Ice Hockey Federation.

The Rangers were eliminated from the Stanley Cup after being defeated by the Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. The Swedes, after three matches of the world championship, have four points in their assets and occupy fifth place in group A.

Lundqvist last competed at the World Championships in 2008. He is the 2006 Olympic champion and 2014 Olympic silver medalist.

The Ice Hockey World Championship starts this week. We present our rating of goalkeeper lines for the national teams participating in the 2017 World Cup.

Draisaitl will play for the German national team, McDavid will not come to the World Cup

Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl will play for Germany at the 2017 Ice Hockey World Championship. It is reported by Yahoo Sports.

The German striker played 82 matches in the regular season, in which he scored 77 (29 + 48) points, becoming the eighth scorer in the league. In 13 playoff games, he scored 16 (6 + 10) points and reached the semifinals of the Western Conference with his team, where he lost to the Anaheim Ducks in seven games.

Another leader of "Edmonton" Connor McDavid will not help Team Canada on .

Also, New York Rangers quarterback Brady Shay and striker Kevin Hayes play for the USA team.

“Passion for Ovechkin” is a traditional theme that precedes all world championships without exception. No matter how the situation develops, one cannot recall the case when Alexander the Great refused to go to the national team. He is ready now, no questions asked. Another thing is that the national team seems to need it less than ever, suggests AiF.ru.

Three vacancies

The Russian national team will play its first match at the World Cup on May 5 against the main competitor in the group stage, as expected: the Swedish team. To participate in the tournament, you can declare 25 hockey players: 3 goalkeepers and 22 field players. On the eve of the start of the tournament, the coaching staff of the national team announced that 19 field players will take part in the first matches: 7 defenders and 12 forwards. Three places remain free. It is clear that in anticipation of overseas results.

The fight for the Stanley Cup, the main prize of the NHL season, is continued by 8 teams, and 9 Russians play in 5 of them: Alexander Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov("Washington"), Evgeni Malkin(Pittsburgh) Pavel Buchnevich("Rangers") Ivan Barbashev, Vladimir Tarasenko, Nail Yakupov("Saint Louis") Anton Slepyshev("Edmonton").

Curse of Washington

The Washington Capitals are the best team of the 2016/17 NHL regular season, the owner of the so-called President's Cup, which in the hierarchy of NHL prizes means virtually nothing. Alexander Ovechkin is the leader, the best player of the Washington Capitals, one of the main stars of the league and at the same time one of its main losers. In the sense that he only dreams of the Stanley Cup, but it doesn’t come into his hands. It seemed like he deserved it. But...

Since 1974, when the "capitals" settled in the NHL, they only once managed to get to the decisive matches for the Stanley Cup. In the 1997/98 season finale, Washington was opposed by Detroit, and nothing good will be remembered about this series in the capital of the States with all their desire: hopeless 0:4. Alexander Ovechkin was then 12 years old, and 7 years remained before his appearance in the NHL.

The Ovechkin era, which has been going on for 12 years, has not affected this eternal curse in any way: as soon as it comes to playoff matches, Washington seems to be let out of air. The first-second round of knock-out matches is the barrier that the team overcomes in good years and which it cannot cope with in bad years. Over the years, Ovi has won a myriad of personal prizes, but there is still no championship ring in his collection.

Positions in reserve

It is very likely that he will not appear this season either: “Washington” is inferior in the semifinals of the Eastern Conference to “Pittsburgh” with a score of 1:3. On the night of May 6-7 (the "backup options" in case the Capitals win in the fifth match - May 9 and 11), the series may end.

Fans of the Russian national team could only rejoice at this circumstance if it were not for the leak of information from circles close to the national team: none of the three free vacancies that the coaching staff Oleg Znarka holds for NHLers, not intended for Ovechkin. At least, a place in the line-up for him, as in previous years, is not guaranteed. Shock and Awe. Why?

There is an alternative

With all the greatness of Ovechkin, it is far from a fact that he looks better today than his competitors on the left flank of the attack, if we consider the first three links of the national team. Sergey Mozyakin, Artemy Panarin and Nikita Gusev- Candidates from among the "iron". They are in optimal shape (they managed to both rest after the club season and regain their condition while in the national team), the level of mutual understanding with partners is close to the maximum, their emotional state is normal.

There are no visible reasons to destroy simulated ties: in all three parameters, Ovechkin definitely loses the competition. The level of individual skill and experience is leveled by fatigue, which cannot be eliminated so quickly, and psychological emptiness (in case his “Washington” once again flies out of the grid).

Send Ovechkin to the fourth link? Such a decision will not suit anyone, including the striker himself. This option is not even considered in theory.

As an illustration, the words of Artemy Panarin, who, on the eve of his departure for the World Championship, explained very well here: “After the departure, the disappointment is too great, some kind of devastation sets in, and I don’t want to think about any hockey. It’s good that I had ten days of rest to recover.”

Competitors at the ready

Be that as it may, overseas events will have a direct impact on the formation of the national team: in any case, the coaching staff will make a decision on the composition, and it will not be easy. Most likely, along with the departure of “Washington” from the Stanley Cup, as soon as it does happen, defender Dmitry Orlov will take one of the free vacancies now. In defense, Oleg Znarok's team has significantly more problems than in attack, and the level of competition, if we break it down into all links, is lower.

Another candidate for elimination from the draw of the main NHL prize is St. Louis, which can delegate another attack line player, Vladimir Tarasenko, to the World Championship. Tarasenko has at least two advantages over Ovechkin: he is much younger (25 years old), and he is right-flanked. And exactly the same parameters are met by Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ovechkin's partner in Washington. On the right, there is no such competition as on the left edge. In fact, there are no irreplaceable ones. Here is such a nuance, which you will not immediately pay attention to. Until, as they say, does not press.

You need to understand that composition decisions are the holy of holies of the coaching profession. Talking about options from the outside, without taking into account the numerous nuances and comprehensive information that the coaches have, you always run the risk of missing the target. But how to remain silent if the question concerns such a magnitude as Alexander Ovechkin, and such a grandiose event as the Ice Hockey World Championship?