41-year-old Popov-MVP Gagarin Cup: I went to the 7th match with an injury, scored a victorious goal, and I watched the game at the iPad today CSKA beat Metallurg (4: 1) in the seventh match of the Gagarin Cup finals and

41-year-old Popov-MVP Gagarin Cup: I went to the 7th match with an injury, scored a winning goal, and I watched the game on the iPad

Today CSKA was beaten by Metallurg (4: 1) in the seventh match of the Gagarin Cup final and won the main trophy of the KHL. One of the heroes of the match was striker Alexander Popov. The 41-year-old hockey player missed three games, went out onto the ice with an injury today and abandoned the winning puck. He was recognized as the most valuable player player.

Alexander Popov / Photo: Maksim Konstantinov / Global Look Press

In the course of the final series, many were surprised that Popov suddenly dropped from CSKA. In the playoffs, the age striker was one of the best in the army and threw important washers. Later, the head coach of CSKA Sergey Fedorov said that Popov was injured, and whether he would return to the ice during the final series – it is incomprehensible. “Sasha undergoes a certain course of preparation for the next matches. The decision on it will be made right before the game, ”Fyodorov said.

As a result, Popov went out onto the ice today. According to some reports, several painkillers were injected with the attacker and only thanks to this he was able to return to CSKA. The age of Popov was rewarded for his heroism – in the middle of the first period he abandoned the puck. Much of the moment with this naked, the striker of Metallurg Andrei Chibisov, who rudely made a mistake in his zone and gave the puck to his rivals. After this error, Popov received the program and powerfully threw Vasily Koshechkin on the goal of.

It was almost impossible to recoup from such a powerful CSKA with 0: 2 in the seventh match of the Gagarin Cup finals. The army team then abandoned the third and fourth washers, but it was the goal of Popov that became victorious. “Win Metallurg today – MVP would become Koshechkin, and if CSKA, then without options – priests,” the commentator Denis Kazan said live.

He was not mistaken-it was Popov according to the results of the seventh match that was recognized as the most valuable player of the playoffs. True, the veteran could not get his award – he was not on the ice at the time of the celebration of victory. Instead, Captain Sergey Andronov received the award, and Popov remained in the locker room due to the injury. According to journalist Dmitry Erykalov, the third period Popov watched in the locker room on the iPad. “Until now, doctors are conjured by San Sanych in a separate room. Even the Gagarin Cup is not brought to him, not to mention journalists. A person cannot walk, ”Erykalov wrote in his own television channel.

The defender Bogdan Kiselevich defended the veil of the secret of Popov’s injury. “This is a person who came out on injections.With an injury that you can't walk with – you need a cast there. He came out, scored, overstrained himself and left. It's the best feeling in the world when you leave like that. This is sports heroism,” Kiselevich said.

Popov, at 41, had a phenomenal playoff. He scored 9 (5 + 4) points in 19 matches, and their third trio with Andrei Svetlakov and Maxim Sorkin became almost Fedorov's main weapon. They scored 16 goals for three in the playoffs. And in order to understand the importance of Popov's role in the current CSKA, just look at the fact that three of his five goals in the playoffs were victorious. According to this indicator, he became the leader of the army team in the Gagarin Cup.

“Why is Popov the MVP? Guys, at the age of 40 he is faster than all of us in the team, he scores – that's the whole answer. A man comes out, scores, ”Konstantin Okulov said after the match. It is unlikely that anyone could have expected that at the end of his career, Popov would take the second Gagarin Cup in his career. He is a true example of what a team leader should be. The age hockey player did not just serve a number in the team, but made the result.

Photo: Maksim Konstantinov/Global Look Press

Now the main question is whether Popov will end his career after this victory? Given how he spent the victorious playoffs, then he can easily play for another year or two. If health allows, then the striker must remain in CSKA. Moreover, in the army team he is on a modest salary – only 3 million per season.

Gagarin Cup. The final. 7th match

Metallurg (Magnitogorsk) – CSKA (Moscow) – 1:4 (0:2, 1:1, 0:1)
April 30. Arena Metallurg. 7500 spectators
0:1 Karnaukhov (Okulov, 08:32)
0:2 Popov (Svetlakov, 09:29)
0:3 Okulov (Grigorenko, Karnaukhov, 36:17)
1:3 Maye (Chibisov, 39:59, bol.)
1:4 Kamenev (56:35)
Goalkeepers: Fedotov – Koshechkin
Series score: 3 – 4 (3:1, 4:6, 0:4, 0:1, 3:2 OT, 2:1, 1:4)