Linus Omark is on a serious 🔥 streak in the KHL.
Through 52 games with Salavat Yulaev Ufa this season he ranks fifth in league scoring with 51 points and was named a KHL all-star. The former Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres forward is brimming with confidence and it was on full display during the KHL All-Star Game skills competition.
Omark lit the blade of his stick on fire prior to one of his shootout attempts.
Full marks for showmanship, but he failed to bury the puck. All indications are that the goalie’s eyebrows are still intact.
Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames wanted to attempt a similar feat at last year’s NHL All-Star skills competition but the league put the kibosh on the idea.
“Me and Gio—[Mark] Giordano—were getting ready to go to the rink, and I wasn’t sure what I was gonna do,” Gaudreau told Sportsnet’s Kristina Rutherford. “We thought about how we played for the Flames—something with fire. He said he’ll bring a bucket of gasoline up to me, I’ll put my stick in, he’ll light it on fire and I’ll go down and shoot. Player Safety said we needed to practise it a few times first. We didn’t really have time to do that, which kind of stinks. But they said maybe next time.”
Omark’s approach was interesting to say the least, as was Anatoly Golyshev’s. He channeled his inner-Robin Hood during his shootout attempt. It was awkward.