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Alex Ovechkin

Snapshots: Ovechkin, Islanders, Perreault

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The NHL announced the captains of the 2020 NHL All-Star Game Saturday. One of the four captains announced, the Metropolitan Division representative Alex Ovechkin was also named a captain last year, but Ovechkin declined the offer and chose to rest instead, accruing a one-game suspension from the league for skipping their annual all-star event. When asked whether he would participate this year, Ovechkin was noncommittal, according to NBC Sports’ J.J. Regan.

“We’ll see,” he said. “It’s lots of games to play. I’m going to do the best for my health and for the playoffs and I have to be healthy for the most important games moving forward. It’s always nice to be a captain on the All-Star team. Thanks fans for voting me. It’s a huge honor for me, for this organization and this team.”

This marks the fourth time Ovechkin has been voted in as Metropolitan Division captain and third straight appearance. If he participates, it will be his eighth all-star appearance of his career. The all-star game will be held in St. Louis on Jan. 24 and 25.

  • Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe writes if newly acquired Arizona Coyotes’ forward Taylor Hall gets to open free agency on July 1, which many people expect, don’t be surprised if the New York Islanders are the biggest bidders on the star forward. Even though New York has to sign young star Mathew Barzal to a new contract this summer, the team and general manager Lou Lamoriello still should have plenty of cap space to bring in a big-name free agent this summer.
  • Winnipeg Jets’ head coach Paul Maurice said he hopes to get back forward Mathieu Perreault soon, according to The Athletic’s Murat Ates. The 31-year-old has been out since Dec. 15 after sustaining a concussion. However, Maurice feels he is getting closer to returning. “He’s getting better,” Maurice said. “We’re having good days now. It is possible that he might be ready for St. Louis… But we’re being very, very cautious. He’s had good days so he’s not far off, I don’t think.”

 

NHL Announces All-Star Captains

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The 2020 NHL All-Star captains were revealed today as three of the names remain the same from last season as Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin, Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid and Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon headline the captains for each division as picked by the fans. The new name on the captain’s list is Boston Bruins winger David Pastrnak.

Pastrnak replaces Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews who was captain at the 2019 all-star game. The 23-year-old is having a dominant season with Boston this year. Having scored a career-high 38 goals last season, Pastrnak is already closing in on that number in almost half that time. The winger already has 28 goals and 50 points in just 36 games as he heads for another career-high this season. Last year was Pastrnak’s first year as an all-star, who was also the “accuracy shooting” winner.

McDavid continues to improve every year. The 22-year-old has continued to put up more and more scoring each year and is on pace to have a career-high in points once again this year. McDavid has 20 goals and 59 points this season through 38 games. MacKinnon is also have another impressive season for the Avalanche, boasting 21 goals and 53 points so far in 35 games this year. The veteran of the group, Ovechkin will make his 11th all-star appearance this season as the 34-year-old has 22 goals this season.

The all-star game will be in St. Louis this season, which will be Jan. 24-26.

Metropolitan Notes: DeSmith, Ovechkin, Niederreiter, Kakko

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The Pittsburgh Penguins had to choose between two goaltenders for their backup goaltending opening during training camp, eventually opting to place last year’s backup goalie Casey DeSmith on waivers and then sending him to the AHL, despite solid numbers last year. That demotion hit DeSmith hard, who reportedly was frustrated and hurt that Pittsburgh would do that, leading to disappointing performances early on.

Wilkes-Barre/Scranton head coach Mike Vellucci, however, said the two have talked about the move and DeSmith has bounced back recently, in a Q&A with Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

“Yes, of course he was hurt and disappointed and all those emotions, which is understandable. I talked to him when he first got down here and I pulled him aside maybe 10 days ago and just said that from standpoint, he can’t let this affect him … So I think from that point on he’s been preparing to be the best he can and not worrying about things he can’t control. I think he’s settled in nice.”

  • Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin looks to have avoided any supplementary discipline after Friday night’s hit against Montreal Canadiens’ forward Jonathan Drouin, in which Ovechkin crushed Drouin with a massive body check in the second period (video here). TVA’s Renaud Lavoie reports, however, that there will be no hearing for the hit. The Canadiens went on to win 5-2.
  • Chip Alexander of the News & Observer writes that Carolina Hurricanes winger Nino Niederreiter is quite frustrated with his offensive struggles so far this season. The winger, who scored 14 goals in 36 games last season after being traded from Minnesota to Carolina, has just two goals and seven points in their first 19 games. The winger has had plenty of scoring opportunities, but has really struggled putting the puck into the net. He currently has an exceptionally low 5.9 percent shooting percentage, which he admits has gotten to him. “I try not to be,” he said. “If you’re not scoring and you don’t get the points then it’s obviously in your head.”
  • New York Rangers rookie Kaapo Kakko is feeling better as he has been out with the flu, according to The Athletic’s Rick Carpiniello, but the team’s second-overall pick this season remains a game-time decision for tonight’s game against the Florida Panthers. Kakko has been hot recently with five goals in his last seven games.

Salary Cap Deep Dive: Washington Capitals

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Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.

PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2019-20 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.

Washington Capitals

Current Cap Hit: $82,864,294 (over the $81.5MM Upper Limit)

Entry-Level Contracts

G Ilya Samsonov (two years, $925K)
F Jonas Siegenthaler (one year, $714K)

Potential Bonuses

Samsonov: $550K
Siegenthaler: $83K

The one failing of the Washington Capitals and their dominance of their run over the years has been their inability, lately, to develop young talent that can step in. Again there are few players on entry-level contracts who can help ease the Capitals’ salary cap. However, the team believes that they might be close to bringing in their top prospect in Samsonov. The talented Russian goaltender finally arrived in North America last season and had mixed results in his first year in the AHL. However, Samsonov is likely to get a long look in training camp this season and even if he doesn’t make the team, he’s due to make his NHL debut at some point this season. After all, the Capitals must figure out quickly whether they have their future No. 1 netminder.

Siegenthaler finally looks ready to step into a permanent role on the Capitals’ blueline. The 22-year-old showed promise last year in 26 regular season games and even saw some playoff action with four games last season. The defensive defenseman is a perfect addition to a defense that is still dealing with injuries.

One Year Remaining, Non-Entry-Level

F Nicklas Backstrom ($6.7MM, UFA)
G Braden Holtby ($6.1MM, UFA)
D Radko Gudas ($2.35MM, UFA)
D Christian Djoos ($1.25MM, RFA)
F Chandler Stephenson ($1.05MM, RFA)
F Travis Boyd ($800K, RFA)
F Brendan Leipsic ($700K, RFA)

Washington will have a big decision to make next offseason as they have two of their core pieces who will become unrestricted free agents and with serious cap issue for several years coming, the team will almost assuredly have to make a tough decision and are likely to lose at least one of them for nothing next summer. Neither is likely to be traded considering the team is strong enough to compete for a Stanley Cup, but the team just can’t afford both. The most likely scenario is the team finds a way to retain Backstrom, but will be forced to let Holtby go, considering that top goaltenders have been cashing in and the Capitals likely won’t have the money to keep him around. Of course much could change, but considering that Washington does have a top goaltending prospect who is almost ready for the NHL, losing Holtby might be an easier blow to take than losing Backstrom.

The remaining group will have to prove their worth. The most interesting player could be Gudas, who is considered a likeable locker room guy, but the Capitals will have to wait and see how well the veteran blueliner fits in with their defense and what the cost of retaining him in the future will be.

Two Years Remaining

F Alex Ovechkin ($9.54MM, UFA)
F Jakub Vrana ($3.35MM, RFA)

While it’s hard to imagine a Capitals team without their star in Ovechkin seems highly unlikely, Washington will have to see whether they can convince their star to re-sign. He’ll be 36 years old by the time he signs his next contract, which means he has quite a few options and while re-signing with Washington is the most likely possibility, the veteran has a number of options which could include returning to Russia to finish his career. Signing with Washington also could hinge on how the Capitals will look in two years. If the team looks like an aging team that has little real chance at winning a title, Ovechkin could also look elsewhere in the NHL for a last chance for a Stanley Cup. The Athletic’s Jesse Granger suggested a while back that Ovechkin might be a good fit with Vegas in a couple of years, suggesting that his relationship with George McPhee could be enough to bring him over there.

The team needs Vrana to continue his development. A player who struggled and was a big question mark at this time a season ago, Vrana answered a lot of questions last year with a 24-goal, 47-point season. If he can continue that success and be a consistent top-six player, the team will likely have hand him a long-term deal in two years.

Three Years Remaining

D Michal Kempny ($2.5MM, UFA)
G Pheonix Copley ($1.1MM, UFA)
F Nic Dowd ($750K, UFA)

The team lacks many major contracts here, but if Kempny continues to prove to be a solid defensive presence on Washington’s blueline, the team may have to hand out a significant contract. While the defender will be out for the start of the season and remains an unknown after a season-ending hamstring injury, he has proven to be quite reliable since the Capitals acquired him back at the trade deadline in 2018. Copley, who posted solid numbers as a full-time back-up goalie, likely will hold down his job, but will be challenged by Samsonov, who the team hopes will be their goalie of the future.

Four Or More Years Remaining

D John Carlson ($8MM through 2025-26)
F Evgeny Kuznetsov ($7.8MM through 2024-25)
F T.J. Oshie ($5.75MM through 2024-25)
F Tom Wilson ($5.17MM through 2023-24)
D Dmitry Orlov ($5.1MM through 2022-23)
F Lars Eller ($3.5MM through 2022-23)
F Carl Hagelin ($2.75MM through 2022-23)
F Richard Panik ($2.75MM through 2022-23)
D Nick Jensen ($2.5MM through 2022-23)
F Garnet Hathaway ($1.5MM through 2022-23)

The bulk of the team’s contracts are here with plenty of money being dedicated to the team between the next four to seven years. Many of these players will likely not be worth the money they are paying for them by that time and much will depend on whether Washington can supplement the team with young, cheap talent. However, the core of the team comes down to Carlson, Kuznetsov, Oshie and Wilson, all of which are currently key to the team’s status as threats to capture another Stanley Cup in the next few years. Carlson, who hits 30 at midseason, put up another phenomenal numbers last year, scoring 13 goals and a career-high 70 points. Kuznetsov had a slight down year, but could be a candidate for a big bounce-back season. Oshie continues to put up solid numbers, 25 goals last season, but will turn 33 during the season and will be 39 before his contract expires, which could go bad quickly. Wilson’s contract doesn’t look nearly as bad, especially after posting career highs in goals (22) and points (40).

Orlov saw his goal-scoring numbers drop, but he still has been a key figure on the team’s defense. Although he saw his ATOI drop by a minute in a half, the team still believes that Orlov is a top-pairing defender. The team hopes that Jensen might provide the same value at a much cheaper price. Jensen, acquired from Detroit and immediately extended for four years, gives Washington even more depth on the team’s blueline. He only averaged 17 minutes in his 20 games with Washington, but he could return to the 20 minutes he was averaging when he was with the Red Wings.

Washington has started to put more effort into bringing in cheaper players, who they think can contribute to the team long-term such as Hagelin and Panik, who were both locked up as the team believes both can contribute as middle-six players for a number of years.

Buyouts

None

Retained Salary Transactions

None

Still To Sign

None

Best Value: Wilson
Worst Value: Oshie

Looking Ahead

The Capitals are a team that have made it clear years ago that they were going for it. They succeeded finally, winning a Stanley Cup after the 2017-18 season. However, they looked just as formidable last year, despite a first-round exit in a grueling seven-game series against the Carolina Hurricanes. However, expectations continue to be high that this veteran laden club can continue to be one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference. With a number of their players already in their 30’s, the question will end up being how long can they keep this up? The team is capped out and will be for years to come, so they could lose quite a bit of talent over the next few years and with one of the weakest group of prospects in the league, the team will have to be quite clever with the cap to keep the team relevant.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

IIHF Notes: Russia, Sweden, Czech Republic

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If your team has already been eliminated from the NHL playoffs or failed to get there in the first place, the upcoming IIHF World Championship is the last bit of high level hockey for the season. The 2019 tournament is shaping up to be a good one with some of the best talent on the planet facing off, and the Russian contingent has to be one of the favorites heading in.

Today, Russia announced their leadership group for the tournament by naming Ilya Kovalchuk team captain. Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Plotnikov have been named alternates, an impressive group with plenty of international experience. Kovalchuk served as an alternate at last year’s Olympic Games, but he’ll take over the top role given Pavel Datsyuk’s absence from the tournament.

  • Sweden continues to add firepower to their group, and have added William Nylander, Mattias Ekholm and Marcus Pettersson in addition to Elias Lindholm who was recently confirmed. Nylander was a huge part of the 2017 gold medal for Sweden, recording 14 points in 10 games—twice that of any of his teammates. The Toronto Maple Leafs forward had an extremely disappointing season but will try to get things turned around on the international stage where he has excelled in the past.
  • The Czech Republic announced today that Filip Hronek, Jakub Vrana and Dmitrij Jaskin will join their group, an interesting sight given the status of the latter two. Players rarely attend the tournament without an NHL contract in hand, and Vrana and Jaskin are both set to be restricted free agents this summer. Perhaps that means some decisions have already been made on the pair, as Vrana is expected to be signed quickly by the Capitals while Jaskin may not receive a qualifying offer. Either way, we’ll have to wait and see if they actually take part in the tournament that starts on May 10th.

2019 Hart Trophy Finalists Announced

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The finalists for the Hart Trophy, given to the player most valuable to his team, have been announced. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the three finalists are Pittsburgh Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov and Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid.

Kucherov is considered to be a favorite for the award after putting up a tremendous year. The 25-year-old took his game to another level as he has already captured this year’s Art Ross Trophy for leading the league in total points. He finished the year with 41 goals and 128 points, the most in the league since the 1995-96 season. His totals are also the most-ever by a Russian-born NHL player. Kucherov has also been nominated for the Ted Lindsay Award, awarded to the most outstanding player and voted on by the players. Kucherov led his team to the Presidents’ Trophy, given to the team with the best regular-season record.

Crosby had an impressive season as well. Often forgotten when talking about the league’s best players, Crosby helped lead the Penguins to the playoffs this year and did it by breaking the 100-point mark for the first time in five years. On top of that, he was 18-points better than any other players on his team, making his season quite valuable for a Pittsburgh franchise that struggled to get into the playoffs this season.

McDavid’s name is not surprising either, other than the fact that the Edmonton Oilers didn’t have a very impressive season and while they weren’t mathematically eliminated from the playoffs until late in the season, they were never truly considered to be a playoff threat this season. In fact, McDavid is just the sixth player in NHL history to be a Hart finalist from a non-playoff team. McDavid, however, who won the Hart Trophy in the 2016-17 season when he tallied 30 goals and 100 points, continues to improve on each season as he tallied 41 goals and 116 points to reach new career highs.

Several interesting players were left off the finalist list as well, including Washington Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin and Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane.

 

Metropolitan Notes: Devils Defense, Santini, Svechnikov

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The New Jersey Devils outlook for their future shot upwards a few weeks ago during the draft lottery after they won for the second time in three years, and now have the opportunity to add top prospects Jack Hughes or Kappo Kakko. However, one thing that is missing from a potential playoff roster in the future is a dominant defenseman.

The Athletic’s Corey Masisak (subscription required) divides up the current roster, but makes it clear on many occasions that what the team truly needs is a dominant defenseman who can run the defense. Even with 2018 first-rounder Ty Smith likely to join the team next season, the team could very well be on the lookout for a dominant blueliner via trade (if one can be found), suggesting the team may have to move one of their current top three to make a deal like that work in either Damon Severson, Will Butcher or Sami Vatanen.

Both Severson and Butcher are listed as unlikely to be traded unless a blockbuster deal can be found are both considered to be top-four defenseman along with Vatanen, but both blueliners would have significant value in return for an elite defenseman. Vatanen would unlikely have much trade value due to his age, but more importantly due to his injury history.

  • Sticking with the Devils defense, the team hopes they have found a regular to their defensive core as defenseman Steven Santini seemed to have found his niche in the final six weeks of the season. The 24-year-old had dealt with injuries and time in the minors, but looks to have a good chance to establish himself as an everyday defenseman next season for New Jersey, according to NJ.com’s Chris Ryan. After missing a large chunk of the season after breaking his jaw on the first game of the season last year, Santini came back in December, but needed time to find his game. His opportunity came at the trade deadline when the team traded Ben Lovejoy to Dallas, giving Santini a shot at Lovejoy’s minutes. He took advantage of them. “He’s got to be difficult to play against. Tight gaps on line-rush defense. He needs to be hard at the net front. He needs to be able to end plays defensively down low,” Devils coach John Hynes said. “We’d like to see him take a step on a penalty kill, missing a guy like Ben Lovejoy where he could fill into that type of role. And understanding that his puck skills need to improve.”
  • With Game 2 lineups out, the Carolina Hurricanes still don’t have injured forward Andrei Svechnikov back in the lineup. The 2018 second-overall pick has been in concussion protocol after suffering a head injury in a fight with fellow-Russian Alex Ovechkin in the first round of the playoffs. News & Observer’s Chip Alexander reports that a Game 3 return would be perfect timing for the Hurricanes and would get the home crowd even more hyped up, regardless of Carolina’s Game 2 performance.

Russia Adds Top Talent For IIHF World Championship

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Teams that lose in the first round of the NHL playoffs often represent the biggest source of talent for the IIHF World Championship, and for Team Russia that is certainly the case this season. Igor Eronko of Sport-Express tweets that Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov and Nikita Zaitsev have all accepted an invitation from Russia to suit up in next month’s tournament. Evgenii Dadonov from the Florida Panthers will be joining them, giving the Russians quite the powerful forward group.

It’s not just those players who are headed to Slovakia for the tournament, as the team had previously received commitments from Evgeni Malkin, Nikita Kucherov, Ilya Kovalchuk, Mikhail Sergachev, Kirill Kaprizov, Andrei Vasilevskiy and others.

For Ovechkin, this is just another chance to add to his incredible international resume. The Washington Capitals have been knocked out of the playoffs early many times in the past, leading to the superstar forward suiting up 12 times in the past for this tournament. While still looking for an Olympic gold—Russia won last year when the NHL did not attend—Ovechkin has won this tournament three times previously and has a total of eight medals.

The action begins on May 10th.

Andrei Svechnikov In Concussion Protocol

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The Carolina Hurricanes could very well be without one of their young stars for the next game in their opening round series against the Washington Capitals. Andrei Svechnikov is in the concussion protocol after going to the hospital following his fight with Alex Ovechkin last night. Svechnikov was hit hard by a punch from Ovechkin and appeared to hit his head on the ice as he went down. Head coach Rod Brind’Amour told reporters today including Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post that he doesn’t expect Svechnikov to play in game four on Thursday night.

The 19-year old Svechnikov had taken his game to another level in the second half of the season and playoffs, and actually had three points in the first two games of the series. It’s a big blow for a Carolina team that has gotten themselves back into the series with a convincing win, and one that certainly will shake up their forward group. Micheal Ferland also left the game with an injury but his status was not updated today.

Carolina trail in the series 2-1 and have a big hill to climb, but have exposed some weaknesses on the Capitals blue line and will try to exploit that again in Thursday’s matchup. Even if Svechnikov feels up to it, he’s unlikely to get back into the lineup as the team will not risk the future health of the second-overall pick.

Minor Transactions: 03/31/19

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Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin picked up his 50th goal of the season on Saturday in the team’s 6-3 victory over Tampa Bay, giving him eight 50-goal seasons throughout his career. That puts the Capitals forward among elite company, as only Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky have accomplished that feat. Of course, both of those two players have done it nine times, which means that Ovechkin will need to pull it off one more time if he wants to tie those two legendary players. With another slate of potential season-altering games today, with the playoffs now right around the corner, keep an eye out for the minor moves that teams are making to give them the best chance to maximize their points in these final games:

  • The Buffalo Sabres have returned defenseman Matt Tennyson to the Rochester Americans of the AHL, according to CapFriendly. The team recalled him Thursday, but Tennyson didn’t see any action in either game the Sabres have played since then. The 28-year-old Tennyson has four goals and 20 points in 45 AHL games.
  • The San Jose Sharks have returned defenseman Jacob Middleton after recalling him Saturday night to serve as an emergency defenseman, according to CapFriendly. He did not play in Saturday’s overtime win over Vegas. The 23-year-old Middleton will return to the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL, where he has five goals and 19 points in 54 games.
  • CapFriendly reports that the Boston Bruins have assigned center Karson Kuhlman to the Providence Bruins of the AHL. Kuhlman was recalled Friday on emergency conditions. Kuhlman did not see any action in the team’s loss to Florida Saturday. The 23-year-old Kuhlman has 12 goals and 30 points in 58 AHL games.
  • The Detroit Red Wings announced they have recalled goaltender Kaden Fulcher from the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL under emergency conditions. He is expected to backup starter Jimmy Howard while Jonathan Bernier is out with an upper-body injury. Fulcher hasn’t even made an appearance with the Griffins as the 20-year-old has played his entire season with the ECHL Toledo Walleye where he has gone 15-7-2 with a 3.00 GAA and a .899 save percentage. CapFriendly also reports that the team has recalled forward Dominic Turgeon on an emergency basis. The 23-year-old prospect hasn’t played a game for Detroit this season, but has accumulated six goals and 19 points in 69 games with the Griffins.
  • The Toronto Maple Leafs officially announced they have recalled defenseman Calle Rosen from the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. Rosen, who signed as a free agent in the summer of 2017, played four games for Toronto immediately then, but then was assigned to the Marlies. He put up 22 points in 62 games that year , but has taken his game to another level this season as he has posted seven goals and 46 points in 54 games and was signed to an inexpensive, tw0-year extension with the understanding he will take over a spot on the Maple Leafs’ blueline next season. Rosen is expected to meet the team in New York and play with the team on Monday.
  • The Colorado Avalanche have recalled defenseman Mark Barberio from his conditioning stint with the Colorado Eagles of the AHL, according to CapFriendly. The 29-year-old blueliner hadn’t played in a game since Jan. 21, so the team sent him to the AHL to get his timing back in case they need to use him. Barberio has played in just 12 games this season for the Avalanche. He picked up an assist in two games with the Eagles.
  • The Nashville Predators have recalled forward Austin Watson from his conditioning stint with the Milwaukee Admirals, according to The Athletic’s Adam Vingan. Watson, who had been suspended indefintely to an “alcohol related relapse,” and entered Stage Two of the joint Substance Abuse and Behavioral Program, was reinstated on Mar. 18. To get him ready for the approaching playoffs, the team sent him on a conditioning loan where he scored four goals in two games.

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