Vitali Kravtsov is back and scoring goals again
Vitali Kravtsov was expected to return to the lineup on Sunday, but made an earlier return in a big win for Traktor today. The Rangers prospect notched his 7th goal of the season in their 4-2 victory today.
Watch Vitali Kravtsov score in his return
In the second period of the today’s contest, Kravtsov did a beautiful job following up on the play. He then used his incredible reach and wrist strength to put home the rebound for the game tying goal.
Traktor would go on to score two more to complete the comeback win. For Vitali it was his first game in October and it looked like he didn’t miss a beat from his leg injury.
Vitali Kravtsov playing with more determination
Earlier this season, we spoke with KHL reporter Gillian Kemmerer. She relayed to us what’s been the biggest difference for Vitali from last season to this one.
“One of Traktor’s players described the change within Kravtsov as a migration from “cute hockey” to a more aggressive, North American game,” Gillian explained. “Another joked about trading dipsy-doodles for being first in on the forecheck. Beyond his on-ice performance, he is working harder than ever.”
Gillian also explained that Vitali has been working really hard with Traktor’s trainers and doing workouts the Rangers send him. “Players who have known him for years see the change in his work ethic, but also his mentality,” she said. “One teammate commented that he seems to put less unproductive levels of his pressure on himself. The results are (thus far) self-evident in his numbers.”
COVID-19 breakout for Jokerit in Liiga
Four players on Jokerit have tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from games in Russia and Kazakhstan. They played three games against Sibir Novosibirsk, Amur Khabarovsk and Barys Nur-Sultan and now have to postpone games.
For more on this story and how Liiga is using a hockey data company to assist in contact tracing, go to The Daily Goal Horn.
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