EuroVision: Highlights, notes, tweets and photos from across the pond – where the lockout doesn’t quite translate
Embracing North Americans’ hunger for hockey, the KHL, which made its ESPN debut Tuesday, is now pumping out highlight packages with English commentary.
The league’s North American coming-out party was a little underwhelming: a 1-0 victory for Dynamo over Lev, the contest’s only goal resulting from an ugly goalie giveaway and the ensuing crease scramble. At least Dynamo star Alex Ovechkin put it in with a good second effort:
Ovie now has three goals and three assists in his last four games.
Count Boston Bruins defenceman Andrew Ference among those who watched Zdeno Chara take on Ovechkin in the KHL’s ESPN2 debut:
Watching Z vs. Ovi on @espn3 twitter.com/Ferknuckle/sta…
— Andrew Ference (@Ferknuckle) October 9, 2012
watching Lev/Dynamo really makes a guy hungry to play some games
— Stu Bickel (@StuBickel) October 9, 2012
Lev – Dynamo on ESPN – great. But no one channel shows this game live in Russia. Not Russia-2, not even KHL-TV. Hmmm…
— Pavel Lysenkov (@plysenkov) October 9, 2012
That Chara fellow not only knows how to see over a crowd, he can draw one as well. Despite its other NHL imports, Jiri Hudler and Jakub Voracek, being injured, HC Lev set the KHL attendance record Tuesday, when they lost to Dynamo:
16304 spectators now in Praha – the new attendance KHL record!
— Pavel Lysenkov (@plysenkov) October 9, 2012
For those scoring at home, the official KHL box score attendance reads 16,317.
Another Bruin fared a little better with his adopted team on Tuesday:
Patrice Bergeron had a big night as Lugano beat Langnau: scored two goals and four points. Former NHLer Glen Metropolit had 4A. #Bruins
— Matias Strozyk (@MaStrozyk) October 9, 2012
Breathe easy, Rangers fans. Rick Nash (shoulder) returned from injury Tuesday and played again for his Swiss outfit, HC Davos. Nash had been out of the lineup since Sept. 28, making Joe Thornton hands-down the interim Best Player on Davos. Despite missing four games, Nash assisted on a Thornton goal and score the game-tying marker en route to a 3-2 Davos OT win over Ev Zug.
In a Swiss battle of NHL all-star centremen, Logan Couture racked up four points (two goals, two assists) as his first-place Geneva-Servette wiped the ice with Jason Spezza’s Rapperswil 8-1.
Winnipeg Jets forward Evander Kane — he of the KHL coach-criticized flabbiness — had another poor game Tuesday. He took a penalty and was a minus-1 in Dinamo Minsk’s 2-1 overtime loss to Dinamo Riga.
Winnipeg native Nigel Dawes, however, is tied (with Igor Mimov) for the KHL lead in goals with eight. Dawes was last seen in a Montreal Canadiens uni before joining Barys Astana in 2011-12.
And a scary moment occurred in the Swedish Elite League:
Oskar Sundh in hospital. Hit head on glass and ice following check. Unconscious 15min, strechered off. Game suspended. bit.ly/Pm3xqc
— Matias Strozyk (@MaStrozyk) October 9, 2012