A tough trick from Aleksander Barkov – the star defender let out a wild stream of praise: “In the front row in this play” | Sport

The NHL’s strongly Finnish-colored teams Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes secured Finland’s place in the playoffs in last night’s NHL round.

However, Florida lost to the New York Islanders 2–3 on home ice. Panthers Alexander Barkov scored a goal and had one assist. Defender Niko to Mikkola recorded an assist for Barkov’s 2-1 goal.

– Last year we didn’t get to the playoffs until the last match of the season. Now we have room to breathe. Of course, hard work lies ahead. We have to be better than in the last couple of games, Florida captain Barkov reflected.

Barkov, 28, has hit in the NHL now in 728 regular season games, power 262+438=700.

Finnish hockey players only Jari Kurri (483 matches) and Teemu Selänne (541 matches) reached 700 power points faster than Barkov.

After the match Barkov was askedwhat crossing the 700-point threshold means.

– It means a lot. As a little boy, I could not have imagined that I would be in this situation now. It’s one of the things you probably only realize after your career.

– I have been here for a long time and lived my dream every day. Someone said in my first year here that you have to enjoy every day because your career goes fast. It’s been a quick 11 years, but hopefully there are many more to come.

In addition to Kurr, Selänte and Barkov, more than 700 points in the NHL have been captured Saku Koivu, Olli Jokinen and Mikko Koivu.

Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad, 28, raved about Barkov to the club on the website fluently.

– It’s been fun growing up with him. He is the best leader and role model. Following in his footsteps has always been a treat for me. You see what he does on the ice. It’s really cool to be in the front row for this play.

Florida advanced to the playoffs for the fifth straight season. Barkov leads Florida in playoff assists (26), points (37) and games played (47).

Last season, Florida lost to Vegas in the Stanley Cup finals, winning 1–4. In addition, Florida has been in the finals at the end of the 1995-96 season, when Colorado won the championship 4-0.

With Florida’s head coach Paul Maurice is the most regular season games of any NHL head coach without a Stanley Cup.

Barkov, on the other hand, could become the first Finnish-born player to win the Stanley Cup as the captain of his team. The only winning captains from outside North America are Gabriel Landeskog (2022 Colorado), Alexander Ovechkin (2018 Washington), Zdeno Chara (2011 Boston) and Nicklas Lidstrom (2008 Detroit).

Sebastian Aho continued his wild streak

The Carolina Hurricanes also secured their place in the playoffs by defeating the Detroit Red Wings 4–0. Sebastian Aho completed his team’s first goal, which was his 250th in the NHL. Aho also recorded two assists.

– I get to play with great players, I play a lot of minutes and overpower, so I expect performance from myself. It’s always nice to score goals and points, but I look at my game a little differently, like how I do in each of the three areas of the game, Aho explained.

Aho has now collected 83 power points this season. The number eclipses his season record in the NHL.

Read also: Sebastian Aho is playing the hockey of his life, when he finally found a top-level platform

Across the Nashville and MacKinnon Pipes

Montreal Canadiens Jesse Ylönen and Joel Armia were, on the other hand, the guarantors of their team’s victory, when Montreal defeated the Philadelphia Flyers in their home arena with goals 4–1. Ylönen scored his team’s 2–0 goal. Armia was the finisher of the 3–0 goal and the passer of the 4–1 final score.

of the San Jose Sharks Mikael Granlund added to his point tally by scoring his team’s only goal as the Sharks lost 1–3 at home to the Minnesota Wild.

The Dallas Stars defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3–1 on the away field. The Dallas Star Roope Hintz immediately scored his team’s opening goal in the opening set. In addition to this, Hintz was passing both 2–1 and 3–1 goals.

Arizona Coyotes and Nashville Predators goal celebration Matias Maccelli scored his team’s 7–3 hit when the team defeated Nashville 8–4 on home ice.

At the same time, Nashville’s dizzying 18-game point streak was broken, which was the longest in the NHL this season and Nashville’s club record. Juuse Saros was substituted out of Nashville’s goal after the second period after allowing six pucks behind him.

of the New York Rangers Kaapo Kako tied the score at 1–1 when the team faced the Colorado Avalanche away from home. The match stretched into a tough match, after which Rangers won 3–2. of Colorado Mikko Rantanen failed to put the puck in for the winning goal, and the game was ultimately decided by the Rangers Vincent Trocheck.

Also in Colorado’s match, the point streak was broken, because Nathan MacKinnon had collected a power point in 35 consecutive home games since the beginning of the season. It remains at the top of the list Wayne Gretzky 40 match streak.