Goal. 0:1.27.Staffan Kronwall (16.Sergei Plotnikov, 60.Artyom Anisimov). Lokomotiv. Power Play

ARTY!!!!!

Another old buddy got into the boxscore.

11:55 Penalty. 63.Maxim Kondratyev (Lokomotiv). 2min. holding.

It’s easy to forget that that year following the lockout, big things were expected of Max Kondratyev, who was part of the unpopular Brian Leetch trade to Toronto. The deal also included Jarkko Immonen and a first round pick that turned into Lauri Korpikoski. Too bad Tom Renney hated Immonen giving him the Prucha Treatment. Speaking of which, Petr Prucha scored in yesterday’s SKA 7-2 rout of Salavat. How else would he score then out of sheer hustle, getting to a rebound and steering the puck home with a bigger defenseman on him. That’s the Pruuuuuuu we all knew and loved.

Getting back to Kondratyev, he eventually was dealt to Anaheim for ’05-06 rental Petr Sykora. Sykora wasn’t bad for us, tallying 16 goals and 15 assists for 31 points in 40 games to help the Rangers reach the playoffs. Unfortunately, we all know how that ended. It still was a big year for the organization that started the trend to finally becoming a good team again. Now, fast forward and here we are fresh off the club’s first Conference Finals appearance since ’97. Even if it ended bitterly (Henrique Henrique Henrique), it was a necessary step, giving the team an experience that should motivate them whenever the NHL returns.