Ovechkin gave the victory to Panarin. His fatal mistake buried Washington even deeper

Few people initially believed that Washington was capable of winning the series with the Rangers. Yes, the playoffs are a separate competition in which all previous achievements in the regular season are reset. It happened more than once that an obvious outsider knocked out the favorite and even eventually made it to the Stanley Cup, just as the recognized favorites fell in the first round, and some in disgrace.

However, the presence of Alexander Ovechkin in Washington, albeit in the form in which he is now, and his confrontation with Artemi Panarin and Igor Shesterkin, clearly added charm to this series. Panarin shone in the first match, scoring one of four goals against the guests, and in general the Rangers looked stronger and more confident than their opponents. But already in the second, the “capital” grabbed their chance and did not let go of the game for a long time. The score changed one way or the other, and only once did the Rangers take a two-goal lead, which was ultimately enough to win. And Ovechkin was involved in this.

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Washington was on the verge of collapse. Ovechkin scored, but it was all decided by the coach’s risky gamble

In the middle of the second period, Alexander, receiving a pass from a partner in the area of ​​the central circle, waited for the rebound from the side and, it seemed, had already processed the projectile. However, the sneaking Mika Zibanejad instantly left the Russian out of work, as a result of which the hosts carried out a lightning attack and increased the advantage to two goals. They didn’t score again, and the Capitals only managed to close the gap. And 2-0 in the series is already serious. To some extent, it is the second matches that are largely decisive, since an advantage of two victories forces the opponent to play without practically no room for error in order to at least restore parity, and this leads to unnecessary psychological pressure.

Ovechkin himself, commenting on what happened, blamed it all on the “strange”, in his words, rebound of the puck from the board. In the end, however, he made a reservation that in any case he should be more careful. Of course, the Russian was unlucky that the moment became doubly fateful: first, the opponent led by two goals, and after the final siren – 2-0 in the series. But, despite the gravity of the situation, the whole struggle is still ahead. In the regular season, the capital showed that they can beat the Rangers, and even big time (4:0). We need to calm down a little and show our best game.

Photo source: NHL

I don’t want to believe that the most intriguing confrontation for Russian spectators in the playoffs will end too quickly. Panarin’s team is the clear favorite, but this will only make the success of Ovechkin and company even sweeter. There are at least two more episodes of this exciting thriller ahead.

Panarin and the tough guy nailed Washington. Khlebushek completely eclipsed Ovechkin