Russian Season: what individual NHL prizes can Russians win?

There is very little time left before the end of the NHL regular season. Some teams have already lost their chances of reaching the playoffs, some teams continue to fight for the coveted eight, but the struggle for individual awards remains an important part at the end of the season. Our hockey players also claim them.

Ovechkin's nomination

This season is going badly for Washington. Last year, Spencer Carbery's team confidently led the East, but in this regular season, the Capitals are in danger of not making the playoffs.

This state of affairs has virtually no effect on the performance of Washington captain Alexander Ovechkin, who was once again able to overcome the milestone of 30 goals scored, and was recently nominated for the Bill Masterton Trophy, a prize awarded annually in the NHL for his excellence and dedication to hockey.

This award has never been given to Russian hockey players in history. Moreover, in its half-century history, it has been awarded to European hockey players only six times. These are Finns Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne, Swedes Anders Hedberg, Robin Lehner, Oscar Lindblom and Czech Jaromir Jagr.

Ovechkin was nominated for this award last season, but then it went to Columbus forward Sean Monahan.

Kucherov is fighting for Art Ross

A serious fight is unfolding for the prize of the best scorer of the regular season. Connor McDavid, Nathan McKinnon and Russian Nikita Kucherov are considered the main candidates. Until today's matches, the gap between the competitors was minimal, but the amazing performance of the Canadian Oilers forward in the match with San Jose (3+2) allowed him to break away from the competition.

Now Connor is ahead of Kucherov by six points, McKinnon by ten, but the competitors still have matches in reserve. Colorado has two games, Tampa has one. McDavid made a serious start in order to win the Art Ross, but we all know that both Kucherov and McKinnon are able to produce top matches, scoring a lot of points in one game, so the outcome in this fight can be very interesting.

The duel between Demidov and Schaefer for "Calder"

The competition for awards is taking place not only among experienced players, who have been showing a stable level for several years, but also among newcomers to the league. Montreal striker Ivan Demidov is fighting Islanders defenseman Matthew Schaefer for the Calder Trophy— a prize for the best debutant in the league.

In 78 regular season matches, the Russian has 61 (18 +43) points, he is ahead of the Canadian by three points (58), but is not considered the main contender for victory. This situation is quite understandable. Schaefer plays a key role in the Islanders, plays in the first special team of the majority, spends 25 minutes per match on the ice. Many experts call the Canadian the new Cale Makar or Quinn Hughes.

Demidov does not have such a role in Montreal, his average time is less than ten minutes, and there is no such credit of trust that the first number of the last draft receives. According to experts, the Montreal striker's chance of winning is 5%.

The "Vezina" will surely be taken by a Russian

Something special is happening on Long Island. The Islanders are in the midst of a fierce playoff battle, trying to get ahead of a group of teams competing for a wild-card spot in the East. Most of the attention is focused on the phenomenal rookie Schaefer, but there is another Islanders player who makes a big contribution to the team's success.

We are talking about goalkeeper Ilya Sorokin, who is having an outstanding season and is considered one of the main contenders for the "Vezina" award, which is awarded to the best goalkeeper of the regular season. This season, the Russian is leading in many goaltending indicators, showing a phenomenal game and preserving the Islanders' chances of reaching the playoffs.

Ilya's main competitor is Tampa goalkeeper Andrei Vasilevsky, who is also having an outstanding season. Vasilevsky has a better balance of wins and losses — 37-14-4, he plays for one of the strongest teams in the league and is also in the top 5 in most key advanced metrics. However, Vasilevsky plays with a better defensive line. Tampa allows opponents to create only 2.29 expected goals in 60 minutes in a five-on-five game.

Most likely, it is the Islanders' final place that will be the deciding factor in the voting. Since the modern award-winning system was introduced in 1981, only one goalkeeper has won the Vezina without making the playoffs, Sergei Bobrovsky, who did so in the 2012-13 season with Columbus.