Alexander Zharovsky Bounces Back With A Great Performance

On Thursday, Zharovsky started the game against Metallburg by taking a penalty for hooking, where the player looked like he had embellished on the play. In reality, it was called for holding the stick according to the translation, but it makes me wonder if that was a translation issue, and they really meant hooking or tripping. Although in a fair league, the other guy would get the penalty, or both would go off with just how clear the dive was. Nonetheless, this led to his coach benching him for the majority of the rest of the 1st period. 

However, it got worse when he was called for a penalty at the end of the first period, even though it was his opponent who grabbed him, and he did nothing. This play definitely showed that refs do favor the older players in the KHL, and the young players who are also NHL prospects can get a penalty for any simple physical play. 

Following that play, Zharovsky was benched again despite not doing a thing and didn’t see the ice again until late in the 3rd period with Salavat UFA being down 4-1. Almost immediately, when he got back on the ice, he was able to pick up a loose puck behind the net and pass it right in front to his teammate, who finished the play to cut the lead to 4-2. 

Then, right before the end of the game, he and his teammate won a puck battle in the corner, where his teammate ended up with the puck. Zharovsky received the pass and deked his way over to the net before going to the backhand to finish off a beautiful goal.

Following that, he was left on in the final minute to push for another goal, but he and his Salavat teammates couldn’t score another goal in the game. This was Salavat’s 10th loss of the season through their first 13 games. 

It seems like, with just how good he performed against Metallburg throughout his minimal 4:18 of ice time on the day, the loss could have been avoided if his coach Victor Kozlov hadn’t benched him for 90% of the game.

Just when we started to think that things would be different for Zharovsky in the KHL than it was for Demidov, it turns out that no matter where a young NHL prospect is playing in the KHL, they will have no leash when it comes to making a mistake. Hopefully, the Salavat coaching staff notices how much better they are with Zharovsky on the ice, and they start playing him more consistently again. This was actually the 2nd game in a row that Zharovsky was benched because of something. 

The Habs prospect now has 2 goals and 6 points in 7 games, putting himself in contention for KHL Rookie of the Year early on in his first-ever KHL season. Zharovsky and Salavat UFA will be back in action again on Saturday at 7:00 am ET against Traktor Chelyabinsk. Hopefully, he gets rewarded with ice time for the way he finished today’s game.