Vitali Kravtsov back from injury, scores in shootout

In good news for all Ranger fans, Vitali Kravtsov was back in action for Traktor in their shootout win Friday, scoring in the shootout and assisting on the game tying goal.  The game was won by Traktor, 3-2 after going to overtime when Traktor’s Lawrence Pilut tied the score with two seconds left in regulation.

Kravtsov returned after taking a big hit from Patrice Cormier of Ak Bars two games ago.  He had to be helped off the ice and with no word about the nature of the injury, the fear was that it was serious

As a result he missed Traktor’s 5-3 win over Neftekhimik on Tuesday, but was back in the lineup for Friday’s match against Amur at the Valery Belousov Traktor Arena.

In the shootout, Kravtsov scored in the third round of the skills competition to knot the score, beating goalie Evgeny Alikin.  Traktor won on Lukas Sedlak’s shootout goal.

Kravtsov  got his eighth assist on the tying goal and played 22 shifts and just over 22 minutes while taking a team leading five shots on goal.  It’s worth noting that Traktor had him on the ice in the last minute of play when Traktor had pulled their goalie.

With Tuesday’s win, Traktor made the Gagarin Cup Playoffs for the ninth time in franchise history.   The top eight teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs and Traktor is currently in sixth place in the East.

The playoffs are scheduled to start on March 2.   The last possible date for the Finals is April 30.

Headed to New York?

What that means is depending on how Traktor does, we could see Vitali Kravtsov heading back to North America as early as the second week of March, just about a month away.   His return will complicate an already crowded situation on the right wing for the Rangers. Right now, Pavel Buchnevich and Kaapo Kakko are in the top two slots, though Colin Blackwell and Phil Di Giuseppe had been playing well on the right side while Julien Gauthier has struggled.

Kravtsov has had an excellent season in Russia.  In 45 games he has 15 goals and eight assists for 23 points.   He’s taken 120 shots for an average of 2.7 per game.  His plus/minus for the season is +8 and the word is that he has improved his all around game in all three zones.   Assistant General Manager Chris Drury told USA Today’s Vince Mercogliano “He’s maturing, on and off the ice, and we see and hear a lot of good things.”

It’s good to know that Kravtsov was not seriously injured and continues to contribute offensively.

In the meantime, check out Traktor’s mascot in this tweet. He puts Gritty to shame. Much better moves.