Mikhail Grabovsky and Andrei Kostitsyn scored points in exhibition games

September 18, Minsk /Sergei Vishnevsky - BELTA/. North American National Hockey League clubs have opened their training camps and are already playing exhibition games in preparation for the new NHL championship. Belarusian representatives in the strongest league on the planet, Mikhail Grabovski and Andrei Kostitsyn, have already managed to score points, reports a BELTA correspondent. The Toronto club played two exhibition games. In the first, the Maple Leafs lost at home to Boston 2-3. However, Belarusian forwards Mikhail Grabovski and Mikhail Stefanovich did not participate in this game. The second match took place in another city in the province of Ontario, London, where the Toronto hockey players inflicted a significant defeat on Philadelphia 4-0. Mikhail Grabovski played on the first line with Ukrainian Alexey Ponikarovsky and Russian Nikolai Kulemin. In the last minute of the second period, the Belarusian forward made the score 3-0. Picking up the puck along the boards, where Kulemin was fighting for it, Grabovski moved to the face-off circle and scored with a wrist shot past the opponent's goalie. However, 19-year-old Mikhail Stefanovich did not participate in this meeting either. It will not be easy for the young Belarusian to break into the main roster, and it is highly likely that he will start the season in the Toronto Marlies farm club, which plays in the AHL championship. In the most titled NHL club, Montreal Canadiens, two of our compatriots, brothers Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn, are also preparing for the season. True, Sergei, who underwent shoulder surgery in the summer, is working out in a lighter regime. But the elder brother Andrei has already played his first exhibition game, in which his team defeated Florida at home 3-2. Moreover, the Belarusian played on a top line with renowned newcomers Scott Gomez and Mike Cammalleri, who moved to Montreal last summer. It was this trio that predetermined the hosts' success, and Andrei Kostitsyn earned an assist in the 29th minute when his partner Cammalleri made the score 2-0. Kostitsyn Sr. was on the ice for 19 minutes and 04 seconds, took 1 shot, and finished the game with a plus-minus rating of "+1". It should be noted that Andrei played almost half of his ice time (8 minutes 34 seconds) on the power play. The Colorado club, which features Belarusian national team defenseman Ruslan Salei, defeated Dallas 3-1 on their home ice. However, this success was achieved without Salei, who is recovering from a minor injury. Another Belarusian defenseman, Vladimir Denisov, is trying his hand at the Washington training camp. However, in an away game against Buffalo, the team from the US capital managed without the native of Novopolotsk. The main star, Alexander Ovechkin, was also not on the ice. But even without him, Washington managed to achieve victory 4-3 (in overtime). Another product of Novopolotsk hockey, 23-year-old defenseman Sergei Kolosov, is trying to establish himself in Detroit, the most successful club of the last twenty years, which has reached the Stanley Cup final for two consecutive years. However, the roster here is so stable and powerful that it is extremely difficult for a newcomer to establish himself. But the Belarusian intends to patiently wait for his chance and is prepared to spend another year in the farm club. For now, he remains one of the seven of our compatriots preparing for the season in the training camps of the clubs of the strongest league in the world. The NHL championship starts on October 1. Moreover, on the very first day of the tournament, Montreal, where the Kostitsyn brothers play, will visit Mikhail Grabovski in Toronto. -0-