| Kovalchuk will share glory with competitors The regular season of the National Hockey League has ended in North America. The winner was the Detroit Red Wings, for which they received the President's Cup. This trophy, as honorable as it is, is of little use. He brings nothing but the advantage of his own court until the Stanley Cup final, and moral satisfaction to the team.
However, for Detroit the President's Cup has special significance. Two years ago, the Red Wings, having become the winner of the regular season, also won the most honorable NHL trophy - the Stanley Cup. Now Detroit has the same task. Moreover, after last year’s failure in the playoffs, head coach Dave Lewis will not be forgiven for another misfire. For now, fans are optimistic about the future. Dominik Hasek, who returned before this season, may no longer be in the team, but Kurtis Joseph is fine. Lately, perhaps Detroit's best player in the first half of the championship, Pavel Datsyuk, has retired, but Robert Lang, traded from Washington in the winter, has taken the lead, the leaders have recovered from injuries, and defensive play has improved. And now only complacency can prevent a victory in the first round of the playoffs over Nashville.
Russian striker Ilya Kovalchuk received another trophy at the end of the regular season. However, the Atlanta forward only became a co-owner of the Maurice Richard Trophy - a prize for the best scorer. Along with Kovalchuk, Rick Nash from Columbus and Jerome Iginla from Calgary scored 41 goals each. Moreover, the teams of this trio in the last matches were only engaged in playing their most scoring forwards - in fact, the results of the meetings no longer had tournament significance for them. Without becoming the sole owner of the Maurice Richard Trophy, Kovalchuk still went down in history as the third Russian hockey player to win this prize. Previously, the best snipers of the regular season were Alexander Mogilny in 1993 and Pavel Bure three times (1994, 2000, 2001).
However, Kovalchuk, even having won the prestigious trophy, is unlikely to be able to claim the incomparably more prestigious Hart Memorial Trophy - the prize for the most valuable player of the championship. Here, the team’s results are valued no less than personal achievements. And Atlanta, having started briskly, noticeably slowed down by the end of the season, failing to fulfill its main goal - getting into the playoffs. So at the moment, the list of the main contenders for the title of the most valuable player of the championship includes Joe Sakic of Colorado, Mark Naslund of Vancouver and Tampa Bay forward Martin Saint-Louis. Moreover, the representative of the Lightning is the leader in this list. Suffice it to say that Saint-Louis is the NHL's top scorer in the goal + pass system. He has 94 points (38+56) - not bad for a right winger with a height of 170 cm. And Tampa’s progress is impressive. First place in the Eastern Conference and the status of one of the favorites in the fight for the Stanley Cup. The list of Tampa's competitors in the fight for a set of championship rings is traditional - in addition to the already mentioned Detroit, these are Colorado, Toronto, Ottawa and New Jersey.
Well, the last prize of the regular season is of a consolation nature. The trophy will most likely be Russian Dynamo striker Alexander Ovechkin. We're talking about the first pick in the next draft. Traditionally, first choice is awarded in a lottery that will take place today. The four worst NHL teams at the end of the championship have the greatest chance of winning it - Pittsburgh, Washington, Chicago and Columbus.
In the first round of the playoffs there are: Eastern Conference: Tampa - Islanders, Boston - Montreal, Philadelphia - New Jersey, Toronto - Ottawa; Western Conference: Detroit - Nashville, San Jose - St. Louis, Vancouver - Calgary, Colorado - Dallas.
Eastern Conference I V N P PO S O | 1. Tampa | 82 | 46 | 8 | 22 | 6 | 245--192 | 106 | | 2. Boston | 82 | 41 | 15 | 19 | 7 | 209--188 | 104 | | 3. Toronto | 82 | 45 | 10 | 24 | 3 | 242--204 | 103 | | 4. Ottawa | 82 | 43 | 10 | 23 | 6 | 262--189 | 102 | | 5. Philadelphia | 82 | 40 | 15 | 21 | 6 | 229--186 | 101 | | 6. "New Jersey" | 82 | 43 | 12 | 25 | 2 | 213--164 | 100 | | 7. Montreal | 82 | 41 | 7 | 30 | 4 | 208--192 | 93 | | 8. Islanders | 82 | 38 | 11 | 29 | 4 | 237--210 | 91 | | 9. "Buffalo" | 82 | 37 | 7 | 34 | 4 | 220--221 | 85 | | 10. "Atlanta" | 82 | 33 | 8 | 37 | 4 | 214--243 | 78 | | 11. "Carolina" | 82 | 28 | 14 | 34 | 6 | 172--209 | 76 | | 12. "Florida" | 82 | 28 | 15 | 35 | 4 | 188--221 | 75 | | 13. Rangers | 82 | 27 | 7 | 40 | 8 | 206--250 | 69 | | 14. "Washington" | 82 | 23 | 10 | 46 | 3 | 186--253 | 59 | | 15. Pittsburgh | 82 | 23 | 8 | 47 | 4 | 190--303 | 58 |
Western Conference I V N P PO S O | 1. Detroit | 82 | 48 | 11 | 21 | 2 | 255--189 | 109 | | 2. San Jose | 82 | 43 | 12 | 21 | 6 | 219--183 | 104 | | 3. Vancouver | 82 | 43 | 10 | 24 | 5 | 235--194 | 101 | | 4. "Colorado" | 82 | 40 | 13 | 22 | 7 | 236--198 | 100 | | 5. "Dallas" | 82 | 41 | 13 | 26 | 2 | 194--175 | 97 | | 6. Calgary | 82 | 42 | 7 | 30 | 3 | 200--176 | 94 | | 7. "St. Louis" | 82 | 39 | 11 | 30 | 2 | 191--198 | 91 | | 8. "Nashville" | 82 | 38 | 11 | 29 | 4 | 216--217 | 91 | | 9. Edmonton | 82 | 36 | 12 | 29 | 5 | 221--208 | 89 | | 10. Minnesota | 82 | 30 | 20 | 29 | 3 | 188--183 | 83 | | 11. "Los Angeles" | 82 | 28 | 16 | 29 | 9 | 205--217 | 81 | | 12. Anaheim | 82 | 29 | 10 | 35 | 8 | 184--213 | 76 | | 13. "Phoenix" | 82 | 22 | 18 | 36 | 6 | 188--245 | 68 | | 14. "Columbus" | 82 | 25 | 8 | 45 | 4 | 177--238 | 62 | | 15. "Chicago" | 82 | 20 | 11 | 43 | 8 | 188--259 | 59 |
Andrey VDOVIN
|
