We hardly knew ye. (Photo credit: Chris Gordon)

Washington Capitals goaltending prospect Sergey Kostenko has left the organization and will return to Russia to compete for a spot with his home team, Metallurg Novokuznetsk, the team’s head coach Alexander Kitov told Novokuznetsk Sports Portal. Last year, off-season shoulder surgery, several injuries, and an organizational goalie logjam limited Kostenko to just six games with the ECHL’s Reading Royals. Later in the season, Kostenko was loaned to the Ontario Reign where he made three more starts.

Kitov also commented on the future of two other Novokuznetsk-natives: Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov and Winnipeg Jets forward Ivan Telegin.

From Novokuznetsk Sports Portal:

Kostenko returns to Novokuznetsk. He’ll come here tomorrow or day after [Kitov said a few days ago]. As far as I know, he has ended his relationship with his North American partners. If Sergei doesn’t ask for a trade, he’ll attend Metallurg camp. He can prove he can be competitive here. We’re not throwing away players like that especially since we know him well. I think he’s experienced for his level. He’ll get his chance to prove himself.

In regards to Telegin – we had talks with his agent. But Ivan has one more year on his contract with the Jets and he’ll try to crack the NHL roster. Otherwise we’d be pleased to invite him.

Orlov’s situation is a little different. I’d say Dima doesn’t really want [to come back] at this point. But we’re working and we stay in touch with everyone.

The Capitals will still control Kostenko’s rights if he ever chooses to return in the future.

Thanks to Caser for finding the story.

Ovechkin, Komarov, and some body parts of Backstrom during their stint with Dynamo. (Photo credit: HC Dynamo)

On Wednesday, Dynamo Moscow beat Evgeny Kuznetsov‘s Traktor Chelyabisnk to win the Gagarin Cup for the second straight year. After the win, some Russian media outlets reported that Alex Ovechkin‘s name will be engraved on the Cup as he played in more than half of the regular season games with Dynamo. Ovi also said he’s going to get a championship ring.

Today those same outlets, Sovetsky Sport particularly, pulled a CNN and denied their own report (and unpublished the original stories), claiming that Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and Leo Komarov doesn’t fit the definition of “loaned” players. A loaned player in the KHL is a player who was sent down to a minor professional league like the VHL. Since their contracts were voided when the three went back to the NHL, the number of games played is irrelevant. Technically, Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Komarov are no longer part of Dynamo.

Later, Sovetsky Sport contacted Dmitry Kurbatov, KHL’s director of sports events organization, to clear up the situation. Read this and let us know if this actually clears up anything.

There’s a requirement for the number of games played in sports regulations for a player to have his name engraved on the Gagarin Cup. But there’s another paragraph. A few people, at the club’s discretion, may get included in the champions list as well. Simply said, Dynamo has enough legal base to write Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Leo Komarov in that list.

So, you can write in whomever you want, including the players?

You can even write in both of us.

If Ovechkin, Backstrom, and Komarov will get written in, will they be officially considered Russian national champions? [Ed. Note - The KHL champion is also considered the Russian national champion as the KHL has rights to conduct national championships by the Russian Hockey Federation. For example, prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov has a silver medal for making the finals this year and bronze for playing in the conference finals last year].

They will be Gagarin Cup winners. I’m not ready to say anything about the Russian national championship as that is held under the unified plan of sports events approved by sports minister [Vitaly] Mutko. Same as whether they will be given sports titles for a win. [...] This is not our question at all.

So they may not receive a medal?

Usually, Russian Hockey Federation has a pack of medals – 40-45. Then they try not to interfere with the club’s internal policy.

Sports.ru’s blogger Dmitry Feschenko, however, questions the legal side of the KHL’s actions. He points out that the paragraph Kurbatov cited actually reads: “[Eligible for getting their names engraved on the cup are] five executives and six other representatives of the club”.

Feschenko writes:

Ovechkin is OK here – he has a position as the club president’s advisor, and as that his name can make the Cup and could last year, too, but not as the player Alex Ovechkin. The more interesting is in what way do Toronto Maple Leaf Leo Komarov and Washington Capital Nicklas Backstrom represent Dynamo? What are their positions? Or can we really engrave some stranger’s name on the Cup? If so, it’s sad and that way the Gagarin Cup will never become an important trophy.

Just like with the Stanley Cup, KHL players also get to spend a day with the Gagarin Cup. Ovechkin, probably will, as he spends his time in Moscow during the summer. But what about Backstrom?

There are still a lot of questions and few answers.

Dynamo forward Denis Kokarev celebrating the victory. (Photo credit: RIA Novosti/Alexey Filippov)

Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom‘s former KHL team, Dynamo Moscow, has beat Evgeny Kuznetsov’s Traktor Chelyabinsk 3-2 in overtime to secure a championship win in game 6 of the Gagarin Cup finals, taking the hardware home for the second straight year.

Despite a few good chances, Caps prospect Evgeny Kuznetsov, was held without a point. Kuznetsov had eleven points in 25 games during his team’s long playoff journey.

Back in Washington, Ovechkin and Backstrom shared their happiness via Twitter.

Chempioooni chempioooooni ole ole ole…….!!!!!Dynamo Moskva…………

— Alex Ovechkin (@ovi8) April 17th 2013

Congrats to dynamo Moscow! Great team,organization and guys! Well deserved.Molodci rebiata!!Dynamo chempion!

— Nicklas Backstrom (@backstrom19) April 17th 2013

According to KHL Sports Regulations, Article 70, paragraph 6, to get his name engraved on the Cup, a player must play in at least 50% of KHL games before a “Loan.” That means Alex Ovechkin (31 game played) will get his name on the Cup but Nicklas Backstrom (19 games) will not.

There’s no mention of a championship ring in the regulations, but one assumes awarding rings is up to the winning team. During the conference finals, KHL president Alexander Medvedev was asked whether Kovalchuk or Ovechkin could be eligible to get the ring. “Yes, 100 percent,” he said, according to R-Sport. “Every event, every point relates to the team’s final success. For their regular season scoring they deserve to be rewarded”.

3:50 Update: In a tweet, Ovechkin reveals he will indeed get a championship ring.

Im gonna get the champion ring )))haha

— Alex Ovechkin (@ovi8) April 17, 2013

Valery Nichushkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Michael Garnett after Game 5. (Photo credit: Sports.ru/Egor Filippov)

Just because the NHL lockout ended three months ago doesn’t mean that the channel Russia 2 is going to stop using Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom in promos for Dynamo Moscow games. During the channel’s coverage of Sunday’s Manchester United/Chelsea game, Ovi and Nicky popped up in an animated promo at the bottom of the screen, encouraging viewers to watch the CSKA/Dynamo Moscow playoff series. Because they’ll be there! Er…

That’s one fancy looking one-timer. Russia, you stole out players for three months. Isn’t that enough?!

Additional reporting by Fedor Fedin.

Photo credit: Vitaly Gubin / HC Traktor

Two days after a meteorite struck his hometown of Chelyabinsk, the normally-talkative Evgeny Kuznetsov was quiet. The Washington Capitals prospect and 20-year-old forward made no statement on Twitter. On Sunday, Kuznetsov let us know he was okay with a big breakaway goal in Traktor Chelyabinsk’s final game of the regular season, a 4-1 win over their biggest KHL rival, Metallurg Magnitogorsk.

Video below the jump.

Kuznetsov’s breakaway goal is at 2:35. Also, check out a nice tally by the top-ranked power forward of the 2013 Draft, Valery Nichushkin, at 1:50.

In 51 games played this season, Kuznetsov scored 19 goals, the same number he had last year in 49 games. Those 19 goals tie him for 14th in the league. He shares that position with Alex Ovechkin.

Kuznetsov did set career highs in points (44, sixth in the league), assists (25), time on ice (20:38), shots on goal (224), and PIMs (42).

The 2010 first round pick scored two game-winning goals this season and won 90 of 241 faceoffs, 37.3%.

The KHL playoffs are set to start on Wednesday. Traktor is slated to kick off their series at home against Barys Astana on Thursday, though the location or time of their game may change based on meteor damage to Traktor Arena.

Chelyabinsk Region Governor Mikhail Yurevich told the press that Traktor Arena had its windows blown out and suffered structural damage.

Per gubernator74.ru:

In the track and field hall, the old metal constructions have been blown out. We’ll have to replace them and tout the new windows. At the Ural Lightning [rink] the cost of the repairs may be up to 200 million rubles [6.5 million bucks]. There are cracks in Traktor Arena, the windows have been damaged in Yunost Ice Hall. Specialists should evaluate all building constructions, and then we’ll know about the amount of repairs. At the Ural Lightning Rink, the kids were skating and beams fell right on the ice. Thank God no one is hurt. We’ll of course repair everything, but the damage costs are already over 1 billion rubles [33 million dollars].

On Sunday, The Washington Post reported that about 40 Russians remained in hospitals Saturday, out of 1,200 who had sought treatment for injuries.

RMNB wishes a speedy recovery to everyone hurt by the blast.

Chelyabinsk Governor Mikhail Yurevich meets with a child injured by the meteor.

Additional reporting by Ian Oland.

hahahahaha, best friends)))))) (Photo credit: dynamo.ru)

While the NHL and NHLPA race to a January 11th deadline to save the season, we’re reminded how weird future Capitals/Hurricanes games are going to be once/if the lockout is lifted.

Alex Ovechkin and Dynamo Moscow took on former Capital Alex Semin and Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod on Friday. And in Ovi’s first game since getting engaged to Maria Kirilenko, the Russian machine tallied two points, including his 19th goal of the season, the game-winning tally. Dynamo would win 3-1.

Video of Ovechkin’s goal is below.

This may be one of the easiest goals of Ovi’s career. As Leo Komarov brings the puck into Torpedo’s zone, Ovi curls to the middle. Komarov hits him with a pass, and Sasha Major does the rest. Pretty wretched goaltending and defense.

Meanwhile, Sasha Minor had five shots… and… wait for it… a hooking penalty! Semin was on the ice when Ovechkin scored. Honestly, it was fun typing that.

Nicklas Backstrom, who suffered a neck injury on December 26th, missed his third straight game.

Photo credit: dynamo.ru

GIF by welshhockeyfan

Don’t make Alex Ovechkin angry. The Montreal Canadiens learned this lesson a few years ago when Francis Bouillon bloodied the Russian machine and he responded by scoring four goals — including the overtime game-winner.

On Sunday, Ovechkin, perhaps peeved after seeing his 14-game point streak end and his BFF Nicky sidelined from a neck injury, took a rare “handling the puck with his hands” penalty during the second period. Then, from the penalty box, he watched CSKA Moscow score on the resulting power play. Ovechkin scored on his next shift. Quickly. Emphatically. Angrily.

As Konstantin Gorovikov hit Ovi with a pass, the Capitals captain skated towards CSKA’s net decisively, easily curling and dragging around Denis Denisov, and then scoring on Rastislav Stana while falling to the ice. Ovechkin’s celebration? HULK ROAR.

GIF by welshhockeyfan

Despite scoring that jaw-dropping goal and firing six shots on net, Ovechkin’s Dynamo lost to CSKA 4-2. Dynamo Moscow is now 0-2 without Nicklas Backstrom in the line-up. But hey, who cares? Enjoy some more media of this crazy Ovi goal.

Video of Ovechkin’s Goal

Replays of his goal begin at the 1:24 mark.

Photo Sequence of Ovechkin’s Goal

The incredulous eyeballing technique of referee appeal

“You got to be keeding me.”

“Through legs. NBD.”

“Welp, that was easy.”

HULK. OUT.

Photos via Dynamo.ru

“Owwie!” (Photo credit: championat.com)

Almost one year ago to the day, Calgary Flames’ winger Rene Bourque elbowed Nicklas Backstrom in the side of the head, forcing the Capitals number-one center to the sidelines for three months with a concussion. The Capitals struggled in his absence, but 40 games later, after being magically healed by Tiesto, Backstrom returned for the playoff push and suffered no apparent setbacks.

On Wednesday, Backstrom fans got another scare when Nicklas took an awkward second period hit from Milan Kytnár during Dynamo’s 2-1 (SO) win over Slovan.

As Backstrom tries to spin while forechecking, Kytnár checks Backstrom in the numbers, forcing Nicky to fall head-first into the boards. The side of Backstrom’s head and neck takes the brunt of the hit. Nicky then slowly picks himself up off the ice and skates gingerly towards the bench.

Backstrom would take one more shift and then call it a day. After icing his neck with Dynamo’s head trainer on the bench, Backstrom would go off to the locker room.

SportsBox.ru’s Dinara Kafiskina is reporting that after being fully examined by Dynamo doctor Valery Konov, Backstrom is not seriously hurt. The doctor says that Backstrom has a neck bruise and should be able to dress on Friday against Lev.

Phew!

Translation by Fedor Fedin.

Photo credit: dynamo.ru

After a two-game road swing that saw Dynamo Moscow travel multiple time-zones away, Alex Ovechkin and the rest of his teammates returned home for the Christmas holiday and took on Slovan Bratislava on Wednesday.

The Russian machine, who hasn’t been held off the scoresheet since the late 80′s, scored yet again, tallying a powerplay goal in the first period. Ovechkin now has a 14-game point streak and one very happy girlfriend in a #32 jersey. Dynamo won via the gimmick, 2-1 (SO).

Now let’s see this goal.

As Nicklas Backstrom brings the puck into the zone, he passes to Leo Komarov in the corner. Komarov then makes an strong individual play, pushing the puck to slot as he’s hooked to the ice. After Ilya Gorokhov fails to score, Ovechkin cleans up the mess, firing the rebound short-side past Jaroslav Janus. The goal tied the teams 1-1.

In the shootout, Dynamo head coach Oleg Znarok passed over Ovechkin and instead selected Richard Gynge, Marek Kvapil, and Alexei Tsvetkov to shoot. On Dynamo’s fourth attempt and Gynge’s second, the Swede scored and won the game for the blue and white.

Meanwhile, Nicklas Backstrom left the game in the second period after absorbing a hit and landing awkwardly into the boards. In Dynamo’s recap, the team acknowledged that The Swedish Gretzky suffered an injury but did not elaborate beyond that. We’ll see if we can dig up more on Backstrom’s status later.

A trainer puts ice on Backstrom’s neck before he leaves for the locker room. (Photo credit: championat.com)

Coming into Sunday’s away game against Amur Khabarovsk, Alex Ovechkin was riding a 12-game point streak, which — after signing a month into the regular season — had finally put him amongst the KHL league-leaders in points. Well, let’s make that point streak 13 games.

Ovi scored a beautiful, unassisted goal in the second period. As the Russian machine turned the corner and watched a helpless Amur defenseman fall down, he took the puck strong to the net, avoided another collapsing defender, and shot the puck into the top right corner. Holy moly! Ovechkin’s tally, his 16th of the year, would stand as the game-winner. Dynamo would win 3-1.

Now let’s see this goal.

This Ovechkin guy is pretty talented.

After the game, Ovi admitted he was satisfied the effort, especially considering Khabarovsk is 5,000 miles and multiple time-zones away. “We woke up at 5am Moscow time and it is very difficult to play this early,” Ovechkin told reporters after the game. “It’s very strange. But we managed to play well on defense. Yes, there were a lot of unnecessary penalties, but the team still won and we are in a great mood going home.”

The Capitals captain is now tied for third fourth in KHL points with 35. Nicklas Backstrom, in 16:49 of ice time, registered an assist and had no shots on goal. Dynamo will play Slovan on Wednesday.

GIFs of Ovechkin’s Goal

Created by jaybeagles.

Translation by Fedor Fedin.