Andrei Svechnikov's hurricane performance proved to be more powerful than the scoring "avalanches" of Nichushkin.

The matchup between "Carolina" and "Colorado" was presented by overseas experts as a clash between two of the three leaders in the scoring race: Czech forward for the "Hurricanes" Martin Necas and Canadian Nathan MacKinnon. Both had 39 points before their direct duel, just like our Kirill Kaprizov from "Minnesota," who did not play that night. The excellent form of the 27-year-old graduate of Novokuznetsk hockey was detailed by MK-Sport in the article “Kaprizov has lifted the 'Wild' to the top of the NHL: our 'wild man' is the best scorer”.

The game turned out to be a showcase and a purely Russian confrontation between 24-year-old winger of the "Hurricanes" Andrei Svechnikov and 29-year-old Big Val from the "Avalanche," Nichushkin. However, another one of our compatriots, the home team's goalkeeper Pyotr Kochetkov, who recovered from a collision with his own partner, made a significant impact by stopping Colorado's leader MacKinnon. In the opening period, our 25-year-old netminder "shut down" the dangerous forward from the "Avalanche," after which he noticeably faded and did not contribute anything special to the game.

After a rather unimpressive start to the game, where Kochetkov's save was the brightest moment, both teams warmed up a bit in the second period and delivered a fiery conclusion in the third. The offensive power for the "Hurricanes" was brought by Svechnikov, who made three assists on his teammates' second, third, and fourth goals. The "Avalanche" responded with goals from Nichushkin, who brought back intrigue to the match with two scored goals.

However, the efforts of one Russian player were not enough for "Colorado." "The King of Empty Nets" Andrei Svechnikov finally sent the rubber disk to its destination on his second attempt in the last minute, adding a scored goal to his three assists. The final score was 5:3 – "Carolina" ended a streak of three consecutive losses, and our forward achieved four points in a game for the first time in his career, rightfully earning the title of the first star. The 24-year-old Russian now has 22 points (9+13) in 26 games this season.

Also, a record-breaking three assists in one game were made by 19-year-old native of Perm Matvei Michkov. Just three days before his twentieth birthday, the rookie of "Philadelphia" assisted his partners three times in a game against "Florida." Our forward tried to keep his club afloat in the match against the reigning NHL champion, but the unfortunate actions of the "Flyers" goalies rendered all his efforts futile. First, Ivan Fedotov, who started in goal, failed to help his teammates. After conceding two goals, our 28-year-old goalie was replaced before the second period by Alexey Kolosov.

The Belarusian netminder did not perform well either, allowing four goals from 16 shots on his net. The main goalie of the "Panthers," Sergei Bobrovsky, missed this match due to the birth of his second child. So let's return to our rising star across the ocean. Michkov scored three points in one NHL game for the first time in his career. He also became the first rookie in the league to reach the 20-point mark this season, now tallying 22 points (9+13) in 24 games played.

Additionally, the 19-year-old Russian set several other rookie records for "Philadelphia" in the game against "Florida." Matvei became the youngest player in the club's history to record three assists in one period. He is also only the fourth player in "Flyers" history to make three assists in a single game at the age of under 20, previously achieved by Peter Zezel, Glen Seabrook, and Eric Lindros.

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