The honor of the "uniforms": a new Russian superstar and the revival of the "Rangers"

Alexander Ovechkin has just 19 goals left to repeat Wayne Gretzky's record, Kirill Marchenko is dragging Columbus to the playoffs, and Andrei Kuzmenko, who languished in Calgary, is getting in shape. Artemi Panarin and Igor Shesterkin's Rangers are back on the winning track, too. Read more about the main NHL events involving our hockey players in January - in the Izvestia article.

The record is getting closer

Alexander Ovechkin was not very noticeable in the match with Seattle, but when the Krakens replaced the goalie in the end, it was the time of the captain of the Capitals. After receiving the puck at his own blue line, the forward accurately shot on an empty net. Ovechkin doesn't forgive such moments. The gap to Wayne Gretzky is down to 19 goals. Washington has 34 games left before the end of the regular season. Therefore, experts are increasingly confident that in April, the entire hockey world will organize a mass celebration in honor of the new NHL sniper record, which will be set by Alexander.

The NHL website calls the benchmark match with Carolina on April 10, five games before the finish of the regular season. And that's despite his age - Ovechkin will turn 40 in September.

- Age is in the head, and Ovechkin has a goal there," two-time Olympic champion Vyacheslav Fetisov told Izvestia. - And if you have nothing to do, sitting on the bench, of course, you can talk about it. Ovechkin has no age! There's a goal he's striving for. He sets an example for all of us and shows that stereotypes can be sent to the trash can.

The league's most useful player

In the 2024/25 season, Kirill Marchenko made a powerful breakthrough. The Barnaul native is the leading scorer among Columbus forwards and has already set a personal NHL scoring record of 53 (20+33) points in 50 games.

In three years in Columbus, Marchenko has worked with three coaches. He started under Larsen, when he played in a three-way with Johnny Gaudreau and was more focused on finishing chances. Then the club was led by Pascal Vincent - under him Marchenko was used in other combinations, including the Russian trio, which forced him to play more varied and inventive. Hence the sharp increase in assists. The biggest progress happened under Evason. Dean once had Kirill Kaprizov in the NHL, so he understands how to tune up the delicate Russian soul. Not only Marchenko has opened up for the Blue Jackets, but also Voronkov, who is the team's second-leading sniper.

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Marchenko's contribution to Columbus' results is great. Kirill leads the team in points scored in even strength. And more than half of the assists made by the forward directly led to goals - 11 first assists in the five-on-five format. Kirill's utility rating emphasizes his importance. +29 - the best result not only in the Blue Jackets, but in the entire league! Marchenko also leads the team in shots (140) among forwards.

The benefits the Russian brings to the Blue Jackets cost general manager Don Waddell $3.85 million per season. The contract signed last summer is considered one of the most successful in recent years in the NHL. "Columbus" extended the promising forward without putting a huge sum on the table. Marchenko received his first major NHL contract and retained room to maneuver in two years when the agreement expires. As early as 2027 (or earlier), Waddell will have to splurge to keep a major star. That Kirill will reach that status over the next two seasons is not in doubt.

Kuzmenko is getting in shape

Once upon a time back in 2022, Andrei Kuzmenko came to the NHL and immediately showed his best game. All of Vancouver literally carried the Russian forward in their arms, and he lived up to their hopes and trust on the ice. The fairy tale ended the very next season: an unsuccessful game for the Canucks led to a trade to Calgary, where for a while Kuzmenko still showed his old self. With double-doubles and even one hat trick. However, the current championship for the same Flames is still the worst of his career: before the game with Minnesota, Andrei was averaging 0.3 points: 11 (2+9) points in 34 games. That's a terrible statistic for a forward of Kuzmenko's level.

Kuzmenko started the season well, scoring an assist hat trick in his second game. But then he stopped scoring points. In addition to poor statistics, for a while there were problems even getting into the lineup. Calgary head coach Ryan Huska repeatedly moved the forward from the bench to the press box, and he preferred to put the guys from the AHL in the game. And this is a forward with a cap hit of $5.5 million - the third-highest on the team.

But January is definitely not that bad for Kuzmenko anymore. In a game against Winnipeg, he broke his goal-less streak that had lasted since Oct. 15. And the game against Minnesota was a breakthrough game for the Russian - he scored as many goals as he did in all previous games. Kuzmenko opened the scoring when Calgary played on the power play. And in the second period he passed to Martin Pospisil for the goal.

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All of these actions can be classified as ordinary. What can't be said about the forward's second goal. First of all, it was strategically important: Minnesota was pushing and slowly making its way to the breakaway. As a result, the Russian's second goal was a game-winner for the team - the Wild managed to bring the score to 5-4.

New York's comeback

"Rangers" did not play too well before the New Year, but recently the team of Artemi Panarin and Igor Shestyorkin corrected. Thanks to a series of 10 games with points, the club from New York actively joined the fight for a playoff spot.

The successful series was overshadowed by a home loss to Colorado. After losing twice in the course of the match in two pucks, the hosts twice equalized the score. But 15 seconds before the end of the third period, Artturi Lehkonen brought the win for the Evellanche. However, the Rangers still have plenty of time to climb into the top eight of the Eastern Conference.