Neville: Defender Figal is ‘massively impressive’
Inter Miami coach Phil Neville is impressed with defender Nico Figal and forward Robbie Robinson as the team trains for Saturday’s first preseason game vs. Miami FC.
Nico Figal remembers his first phone call with Inter Miami’s new coach Phil Neville.
It was late January, Neville had just accepted the job with Miami, and Figal was spending his offseason with family in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“He called to see how my training was going, and I was surprised because when I saw he was calling, I figured he would be talking to me in English, and my English is really bad — that is something I’m working on — but it turned out he addressed me in Spanish,” Figal said. “I could understand everything he said. His Spanish was surprisingly good. He runs training in English, but then speaks to me in Spanish after to make sure I understand all his principles and philosophies.”
Figal and Neville both said it is critical that the players and coaches communicate better this season. Neville likes to have “a universal language” at practice, which is English, but he reinforces his messages in Spanish to Hispanic players such as Figal, Rodolfo Pizarro and Christian Makoun.
Determined to improve his English and be a vocal leader on the field, Figal is taking English lessons three days a week.
As Inter Miami prepares to play its first preseason match
Alex Ovechkin scored his 718th career goal to pass Phil Esposito for sole possession of sixth on the NHL’s career list and became the second active player to record 1,300 points, helping the host Washington Capitals beat the New York Islanders 3-1 on Tuesday night.
Washington snapped New York’s winning streak at nine and point streak at 12. The Capitals have won six in a row and 10 of their past 11 to move ahead of the Islanders into first place in the East Division.
Goal No. 718 was classic Ovechkin: a one-timer on the power play from his favorite spot just inside the left faceoff circle. It came against former Capitals teammate and countryman Semyon Varlamov.
Ovechkin is 13 goals shy of tying Marcel Dionne for fifth and needs 177 more to break Wayne Gretzky’s record.
Bruins 2, Penguins 1: Dan Vladar made 34 saves in his first NHL start for visiting Boston.
Trent Frederic scored the go-ahead goal in the third period, and David Pastrnak scored for the Bruins (15-8-4).
Casey DeSmith made 31 saves, and Brandon Tanev scored for the Penguins (18-10-1). Center Evgeni Malkin left the game after taking a hit in the corner from Boston defenseman Jarred Tinordi at 6:44 of the first period.
Devils 3, Sabres 2: Mackenzie Blackwood made 33 saves for host New Jersey, dealing Buffalo its 12th consecutive loss.
Miles Wood scored the winning goal on a power play at 4:52 of the third period. Sami Vatanen and Yegor Sharangovich also scored for the Devils (9-13-4).
Tobias Rieder and Jeff Skinner scored for Buffalo.
ELSEWHERE
Canadiens: Montreal defenseman Ben Chiarot could miss the rest of the regular season after undergoing surgery for a fractured hand at a Montreal hospital.
Devils: New Jersey captain Nico Hischier is expected to miss three weeks after having surgery to repair a frontal sinus fracture. Hischier was injured Feb. 27 when he was struck in the visor by a deflected puck.