Washington Capitals in the new season of the National Hockey League (NHL) is an anomaly club. Many expected that the team would work its way from the bottom of the standings to the top with great difficulty in the hope of somehow getting into the playoffs. But the results of the “capital” in the first third of the championship are very good: Spencer Carbury’s team, based on the lost points, are quite likely to take a place among the leaders of the division and conference. However, the Caps faced another problem: scoring. It was precisely this that came as a surprise to everyone.
In 28 matches, Washington scored only 70 goals. This is the second worst record among all clubs in the league. Only one of the main outsiders of the NHL, the San Jose Sharks, has fewer (67 goals in 32 matches). The majority of the team stopped working, and at the same time Alexander Ovechkin gave a much more unpleasant surprise. The Capitals' main goalscorer and the best sniper of the 21st century is going through a crisis: in a third of the championship he scored five goals and set a new personal anti-record for the longest streak without a goal. Neither Ovechkin nor Carbery can name the exact reason for such low performance, given the abundance of scoring chances. But one thing remained obvious: the need to make changes. They have already affected relatively recently, for example, Evgeny Kuznetsov, who was temporarily placed in the reserve. Now the head coach of Washington has turned to the club’s reserves for help.
The day before, Carbery called up Ivan Miroshnichenko from the AHL. Hendrix Lapierre also joined the team with him. The Russian forward finally got his NHL debut. Selected 20th overall in the 2022 draft, the forward moved to the United States last spring, terminating his contract with Avangard Omsk. During the preseason, he managed to take part in a test game, including trying out on the same line with his idol, Alexander Ovechkin. At first, Ovi even worked as Miro’s personal translator, and this story was very nice, because Ivan is considered to be the heir to today’s leader of Washington. Before the start of the season, the Capitals sent the young Russian to the AHL, and in 27 matches for the Hershey Bears he scored 15 points (8+7). And now Miroshnichenko, who has seen a lot in his life, has now tried himself in the main league of the world.
Before this, Ivan admitted to American journalists that he was awaiting his debut in the NHL with some excitement:
“ «I'm nervous. I've been through a lot of circumstances and different situations, I've worked for this my whole life. My family is nervous too. I'm excited about a possible debut in the NHL.»
Spencer Carbery noted that he does not expect effective actions and incredible work in attack from the Russian. The most important thing is to feel comfortable at the new level, match the pace of the NHL, be able to compete for the puck, and also work on the forecheck and in defense. This is exactly what the head coach of Washington spoke with Miroshnichenko in a personal conversation, where the intermediary-translator was no longer Ovechkin, but Belarusian Alexey Protas. It was important for the Caps coach to understand that Ivan was ready for the NHL, and the Russian answered in the affirmative.
Miro ended up in the second team of Evgeny Kuznetsov and Matthew Phillips and took his usual place as an extreme left forward, as well as in the second special team of the majority. The young forward arrived at the Capital One Arena accompanied by Ovechkin. You can draw any analogies you like: a legend walked his heir, a father walked his son to school, a bodyguard walked his star.
Spencer Carbery was clearly pleased with what he saw. Miroshnichenko celebrated his first shift with a shot on target, fought actively and, in principle, looked quite confident and did not get lost in the turmoil typical of the NHL. True, there were some incidents too: while running to the bench, Miroshnichenko was hit by… Ovechkin. Such is the change of generations in every sense of this expression.
Hendrix Lapierre, who was called up from Hershey along with Miro, opened the scoring in the match. Alexey Protas played great in tackling in the opponent's zone and with a cool pass brought the Canadian into a striking position, and he beat the very experienced Semyon Varlamov with an accurate throw. Washington, in principle, looked better than the Islanders in the first period. The Capitals created more of a threat to the other goal, shot more often and acted quite reliably in defense, allowing the Islanders to essentially catch their goalkeeper by surprise only once.
In the second period the game leveled off a little. This was largely influenced by the Islanders' early goal from Hudson Fashing. But the Capitals quickly regained the initiative, and with it the advantage in the score. Moreover, once again Lapierre took part in the goal, this time acting as an assistant. Miroshnichenko also had a chance to excel. For example, when he ran away with Phillips two for one.
Had Miro scored at this point, Washington might have saved themselves from a nervous ending. But in the end, the “capital” had to fight off the “islanders”, who, as expected, increased their attack at the end of the match in the hope of winning back. And the Isles even succeeded: eight minutes before what seemed like the final siren, Anders Lee restored the status quo. However, his efforts were in vain. At the very beginning of overtime, the club's defender from New York, Noah Dobson, out of the blue caused his team to be sent off, and in the 3 on 4 format, the guests could no longer do anything against the Caps. Yes, Alexander Ovechkin failed to score and extended his goalless streak to 14 games in a row, but it was from his assist that Dylan Strome scored the decisive shot. Ovi said that Washington’s victories are more important to him than his goals. Here is the result.
As for Ivan Miroshnichenko, he failed to mark his debut in the NHL with effective actions, as is customary for rising stars of the league. But he played this match usefully and brilliantly.
“»I liked his game. There are several moments that I especially remember. For example, his shot. At the end of the match with the score 2:2, he had to defend. And sometimes it is difficult for extreme forwards. But he coped with it,” Spencer Carbery summed up Ivan’s debut.
In just over 10 minutes of playing time, Miro managed to make two shots on target and make three power moves. All the most important things are ahead of the young Russian.
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