Russian Goalies, Especially Shesterkin and Vasilevskiy, Are Stealing the Show

But the series is being played at a time when Russia has become a global outcast following its military invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. And President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, a hockey fan, is seen as a pariah in the United States and many other parts of the world.

Nonetheless, Shesterkin and Vasilevskiy are both adored, and it doesn’t stop with them. The Eastern Conference finals features other excellent Russian stars, like Artemi Panarin, the Rangers highly skilled winger; Nikita Kucherov, the Lightning’s dangerous forward; and Mikhail Sergachev, Tampa’s dependable defenseman.

But while other sports have banned Russian teams and their athletes from international sporting events, the N.H.L. did not, because the 57 active Russians in the league play as individuals and do not represent their country or their government in the way an Olympian or a Russian national soccer player does. They represent the Rangers, Lightning and other N.H.L. teams.

Shortly after the invasion, the N.H.L. announced it would suspend relationships with businesses in Russia, paused Russian-language digital media platforms and refused to consider Russia as a site for future competitions involving the N.H.L. But it never considered banning Russian players like Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, Vladimir Tarasenko and all the goalies, simply because of their nationality.

In tennis, the French Open allowed Russians to participate, but Wimbledon announced it would ban them because competitors in tennis play under their national flags. Under pressure from the British government, Wimbledon did not want to provide a propaganda victory should a Russian, like Daniil Medvedev, win.

“But if the Rangers win the Stanley Cup, it’s not really a propaganda victory for Russia,” said Timothy Frye, a Russian politics expert at Columbia University and the author of “Weak Strongman: The Limits of Power in Putin’s Russia.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/05/sports/hockey/vasilevskiy-shesterkin-lightning-rangers.html