Succession Review: which of the Russians is showing itself clearly at the start of the NHL season

Alexander Ovechkin is preparing for a big anniversary. But goals are still hard for the great sniper. But the Russian forward of Vegas Pavel Dorofeev, whom many call the heir to the captain of Washington, was forgotten. Columbus' leaders Dmitry Voronkov and Kirill Marchenko also had a great start to the season. For more information, see the Izvestia article.

A new anniversary

Before the start of Washington's home match against Seattle, the NHL leadership said that they did not plan to celebrate Alexander Ovechkin's possible 900th career goal in a special way. The Russian started the current regular season with 897 goals, but his performance in the first games of the season left much to be desired. The goal scored by Minnesota gave hope for a breakthrough, and the game against Kraken added optimism, as Ovechkin scored 11 (5+6) points in eight matches against Seattle and was always very noticeable.

This time, everything turned out to be much more modest. The Capitals clearly wanted to rehabilitate themselves for the offensive defeat against Vancouver (3:4), but they played in a cautious manner. All four links actively applied pressure, forcing Kraken to lose the puck when leaving the zone, and in the middle of the first period this led to the first goal — Nick Dowd scored.

And Washington's main character was a young Ryan Leonard, who scored a spectacular goal at the beginning of the second period. The American threw powerfully with his hands, turning in the center of the other side's zone, and the puck ricocheted off the post with cosmic speed into Matt Murray's goal. This goal was a victory for the hosts, but the most pleasant thing for the coaching staff was not even this fact. During the 40 minutes of the game, Washington did not allow the opponent to create a single truly dangerous moment at their own goal, and there was plenty of sharpness in the possession of the Kraken.

Alexander Ovechkin scored one point for an assist in the majority, finding defenseman Jacob Chikran on clear ice. This is Ovi's fifth point this season, which is quite good for a 40-year-old veteran, but, of course, everyone expects only goals from Alexander.

Ovechkin has another anniversary ahead of him, which Alexander himself considers very important and ranks second after Gretzky's goal record. On Saturday, in the game against Ottawa, Ovechkin can play his 1,500th career game and become the 24th hockey player in history to reach this mark.

As for the abandoned pucks, Ovechkin should gradually start to get more active. Head coach Spencer Carbery admitted that the Russian's missed training camp was affecting his condition. After the loss to the Canucks, Alexander did not train, but he and Wilson were recovering with doctors and massage therapists. Ovechkin played 21 minutes against Vancouver, much more than against Seattle (16), which does not exclude the presence of some kind of microtrauma.

The two best

It's not for nothing that Dallas is considered one of the main favorites of the season, calling the Texans a serious contender for the Stanley Cup. The Stars do not have such bright superstars as Ovechkin or McDavid, but the Dallas team is very smooth, powerful and almost devoid of weaknesses. It seemed that the stars would not have any special problems in the match with the unstable Columbus, but the Blue Jackets were able to give a real fight, and the Russian legionnaires became one of the main characters.

From the very beginning of the meeting, the fast Columbus offered the opponent incredible speed, which Dallas could not cope with. Already in the fifth minute, Adam Fantilli opened the scoring with a lashing wrist shot into the near corner, and this puck gave the guests confidence.

A little later, Egor Chinakhov missed a great opportunity, who could have scored his first goal of the season, but after his shot, Stars goalkeeper Jake Ettinger pulled the puck out of the corner in an incredible split. Egor didn't take another chance a few minutes later, when he was led out onto the goal almost without interference, but the Russian lost the duel to the goalkeeper this time.

This season is incredibly difficult for Chinakhov. The forward, who requested an exchange last season, fell out of favor with head coach Dean Evason. In the current regular season, Egor played only three matches, and only once did his playing time exceed 10 minutes. Against Dallas, he still scored his first scoring point for an assist, but the overall feeling from the striker's attitude was not the most positive.

Columbus had its own heroes without Chinakhov. Boone Jenner realized a numerical advantage at the end of the first period, and Dmitry Voronkov scored in the middle of the third. Along with Kirill Marchenko, two Russian strikers lead the Blue Jackets' scoring list (13 points between them). Voronkov's goal was crucial for Columbus, as it forced Dallas to take a huge risk.

Four minutes before the end of regular time, the Texans replaced the goalkeeper with a sixth fielder — and this with a three-goal gap, which is extremely rare. This turned into a logical goal into an empty net and the final victory of the guests with a score of 5:1, which hardly anyone could have predicted before the start of the match.

The rise of Dorofeev

Hardly anyone could have imagined that the best NHL sniper after the first seven games would be a forward who missed the entire preseason due to injury. And if you also remember that he came to North America literally from the VHL, then the chances of believing in such an outcome tend to zero. But the reality is this: Pavel Dorofeev is still on the goal-per-match schedule and is leading the fight for the Maurice Richard Trophy.

Due to the injury, the forward was unable to win back even a place in the top 6 in the preseason games. In the first game of the regular season, Dorofeev, who hadn't really played since May, came out in the third tier and scored a hat-trick for Los Angeles. After that, there were more goals against San Jose and Seattle. Not surprisingly, Pavel was quickly reassigned to the second link to Mitch Marner.

It was from the Canadian's transfer that Dorofeev scored in the match against Carolina. Marner passed a smart pass through two defenders, and the Russian managed to take it and effectively beat Frederik Andersen. This is Dorofeev's seventh goal of the season and his first winning goal. By the way, before the meeting with Vegas, the Hurricanes remained the only undefeated team in the league.

Pavel shares the first place in the list of the best snipers with Mark Scheifli and Shane Pinto. If Dorofeev continues like this, he will be applying for a very serious contract in the coming offseason. The current agreement with Vegas, under which he earns $1.84 million, expires in the summer of 2026, and there is not much room left under the ceiling after Marner's signing and Aikel's extension.

Unlike Dorofeev, Ovechkin's other "successor" is not impressive this season. Andrey Svechnikov was compared to Ovi at a young age because of his ability to fight by force and stamp glasses. It is with the latter that the Russian has big problems: not a single effective action in six matches. This was followed by a logical transfer to the fourth link. In recent matches, Svechnikov gets only 13 minutes on the ice. And on social media, the Russians are mercilessly criticized by Carolina fans.