Hockey players, coaches and experts often say that the playoffs are a completely different tournament compared to the regular season. Fundamental differences are expressed not only in the format itself and sensational results, but also in the emergence of new heroes. In the NHL this was Valery Nichushkin. While the whole of North America was waiting for the scoring extravaganza from Alexander Ovechkin, Auston Matthews and Nikita Kucherov, the Russian forward of the Colorado Avalanche came to the fore.
The Avalanche, after a difficult regular season, met the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the playoffs. The Jets became one of the main discoveries of the championship, and it was they who were called by most experts the favorites of the confrontation with Colorado. In fact, everything turned out very sad for Winnipeg. After winning the first game (7:6), which is still the highest scoring of the entire 2024 Stanley Cup, the Jets lost the next four games in a row and were eliminated from the playoffs.
The main hero of the entire confrontation was Nichushkin. Valeri (as well as Artturi Lehkonen) scored goals in all five matches of the series and repeated the entire franchise record for the duration of a goal streak in a single playoff series. The last time a similar result was recorded was in 1985, when Michel Goulet scored in five straight games for the Quebec Nordiques. In this period, Big Val scored as many as seven goals and even his first hat-trick in his NHL career. With this indicator, Nichushkin is the sole leader of the sniper race in the playoffs. Behind the Russian forward of the Avalanche are such stars and natural snipers as Steven Stamkos (5 goals), whose Tampa ended the season the day before, Alexander Ovechkin, who in the series against the Rangers (0-4) did not score a single one points and even the best sniper of the regular season, Auston Matthews, who scored seven times less than Nichushkin in this playoffs.
Valery approached this Stanley Cup draw as seriously and responsibly as possible. The Russian has limited contact with the outside world, he is focused only on work and is completely devoted to hockey. This was not enough for Nichushkin a year ago, when he was strangely involved in an unpleasant incident at a Seattle hotel, which forced him to leave the team and essentially condemn Colorado to failure in the series against the Kraken.
Nichushkin had moments that distracted him from his work this season as well. During the regular season, he had to turn to the NHL player assistance program and miss about two months. But even this pause did not prevent the Colorado forward from maintaining his strong form and having the best season of his career. He retained the passion that Valery had in the championship for the most important segment of the competitive year.
“After I get back to my previous level, I will be able to play even better. But some obstacles always arise. For example, small problems with the groin. So far I feel quite good, I feel amazing energy since I recovered from the problems with a groin. There are big events ahead,” The Hockey News portal quotes Nichushkin.
Big Val brings a lot of value to Colorado. He is already called the king of the nickel because of his skills in playing in the zone in front of the other goal, he plays one of the main roles in the power play and is the key character thanks to which the Avalanche special team works effectively, and also performs a very large amount of work during game in equal compositions. Nichushkin is noticeable in literally every zone of the court: when defending his own goal, against others, and even with active pressure on the far side.
In North America they never cease to admire Valery’s game. So much so that they even indirectly accuse Colorado of robbery. In the summer of 2022, after the championship season, the Avalanche signed a new contract with Nichushkin for a period of eight years with a cap hit of $6.125 million. At the time, these conditions looked fantastic. Now in America they are convinced: Nichushkin deserves more.
“Is it a crime that Nichushkin is clearly underpaid? $6.125 million per season until the end of the decade is some kind of joke!” – one of the hosts of the Denver radio station Altitude Sports is indignant.
Thanks to the play of the Russian forward, Colorado was the first among the Western Conference clubs to make it to the second round of the playoffs. The Avalanche's opponent will be the winner of the Dallas Stars-Vegas Golden Knights pair, where everything is still unclear. After four matches in the series, the score is equal – 2-2.
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