shows on Sunday 7.5. two NHL playoffs. First, starting at 22:15, New Jersey Devils–Carolina Hurricanes, and right after at 01:30, Florida Panthers–Toronto Maple Leafs.
Florida’s Finnish captain Alexander Barkov, 27, has received harsh criticism from time to time for his actions in the playoffs. In previous springs, the Tampere center has not managed to get a result on the board in the same way as in the regular season and especially scoring has been a problem for Barkov in the playoffs.
In the current spring, there are two hits after nine matches.
Of course, there is much more to playing ice hockey than scoring goals. High-quality play without the puck is invaluable in terms of winning. Especially in the case of Barkov, this aspect should not be forgotten. Aleksander Barkov has long been one of the most comprehensive individuals in the hockey world, whose value to his team is much more than points.
In this regard, the Tappara breeder has shown world-class performances in recent weeks.
It’s all about blacking out the opponent’s top chain.
The perfect chain for your pocket
Florida dropped a bomb in the opening round of the playoffs, the likes of which the modern NHL does not know many.
Boston, who won in the regular season’s show style accompanied by new victory and point records, succumbed in the decisive seventh game to the handling of the panther pack on their home ice.
Barkov did not appear in the big headlines at the time of the victory. Decisive goals came from other players’ goals.
However, the large audience might have missed something.
Namely, how Barkov played against Boston’s well-known superstars.
Just Patrice Bergeron, by Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak too and stopping their closest adjutants was absolutely central to the outcome. The Bruins stars milked the result admirably against Florida’s weak, underpowered game, but there were no hits in Barkov’s shift in the tie.
Barkov brilliantly overshadowed Boston’s key players with five straight. Of course, Florida took on a lot and had to put up with Boston’s periods of possession, but Barkov and Florida had the final say regarding the result.
When Barkov was on the ice, Florida won their game 3–0 against, for example, Bergeron. Against Marchand, the goals were recorded 3–2 and the number one defender Charlie McAvoy against 4–2.
The readings are really tough, considering that there were members of the joke called The Perfection Line.
The value of the performance is further enhanced by how Barkov was able to operate victoriously from defensive points of view. For example, against Marchand’s golden chain, Barkov started the game 33 times from his own zone and only 19 times from the offensive zone. So about once out of three.
The ratio was the same when the teams changed on the fly. It was the same against other top players in Boston.
And there was no leakage, for example, even in the starts, which Barkov managed for himself with more than 50 percent accuracy.
The next patient – or patients
Now Barkov and Florida have already another moukari being built, the attack of which few – including the one who signed – believed in advance. On the other side is Toronto, which broke its 19-year dry season in the opening round – even with home advantage.
However, the Panthers immediately offered Toronto a shock treatment of a tough class with their two away wins at the beginning of the series.
And be that as it may, in the battle of the top chains, the story is building very similar to the one in the Boston series.
Barkov, less surprisingly, has taken on the responsibility of playing against Toronto’s toughest star players. The player from Tampere has played the most in tied fives Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner against. The spirit of the game is very similar to the Boston series: Barkov’s court has to accept a lot and tolerate the control of the opponent’s puck game.
In the two games against Matthews, Barkov has started the game exactly once in the offensive zone, when both starts and flying substitutions are counted in a tie of five. Once!
There has still been no result for the Leafs stars – not at all.
And, when the play has been screwed in the other direction, Barkov has subdued other Toronto players.
For example Ryan O’Reilly against Barkov has won his game with five draws 3–0. The Canadian, who won the Stanley Cup in St. Louis and was awarded as the most valuable player of the playoffs at the time, is one of the best two-way centers in the world.
During Barkov’s time, there has never been a single fifths in his own.
The direction changed
After Kipaka’s avalanche of criticism, Barkov’s spring fitness is on the rise, and in terms of performance, the Tappara man has stepped up his pace. Now he is already averaging a point per game.
Winning things in the playoffs against attacking virtuosos of this level cannot be praised too much. Barkov has played in nine games, allowing Bergeron, Marchand, Pastrnak, Matthews and Marner to tie for just three hits. The performance is shockingly hard.
On top of all that, he has done it almost without a cold. There is only one two-minute ice cream on Barkov’s list of sins.
Finding a balance
As a team, Florida is starting to be very balanced. Goal-scoring power has started to be found in more chains. When, at the same time, Barkov keeps the opponent’s number one players at zero, the equation is built to win. A Russian veteran has also been found for the goalkeeper game Sergei Bobrovsky through peace.
Also, the atmosphere in the team seems to be relaxed in just the right way due to the difficult regular season and the big Boston surprise, but at the same time hungry. The team is still able to clean up their game, but the upswing couldn’t come at a better time.
If the Panthers can fix their underpowered game that has been really weak – Barkov is also responsible for that – Florida will be an extremely difficult team to beat.