I'm not sure if you can call this the first National Hockey League "fight" that Ovechkin has ever been in - he got into a tussle with Mike Richards and was pushed around by Paul Gaustad - but it is the first time he's ever legitimately squared up with another player with the intention of throwing 'em, and then actually going through with it. No Matt Bradley to stop you this time, Ovie.
Early tweets are arguing that Ovechkin lost the fight, but I don't think that matters as much as what the action represented. Ovechkin has been in a desperate struggle to score points, and the Capitals have lost two in a row and are en route to their third straight loss tonight against the New York Rangers. Good for Ovie for standing up for his players and his team. That's the diligent work of a captain.
1. Young Guns: So. Many. Good. Youngs in the NHL. And they all has guns. In particular, we're talking about the trifecta of Edmonton Oilers talent, Jordan Eberle, Magnus Paajarvi and Taylor Hall. While the Oilers may not be close to contending this year, fans can take solace in the fact that nightly, their team will be an electrifying one to watch.
2. Washington's Year: Many pundits are predicting the Washington Capitals to win the Stanley Cup this year - and once again, their biggest question mark leading up to the season will be in net. With the departure of Jose Theodore, the Capitals turn to Semyon Varlamov and rookie Michal Neuvirth to shoulder the load between them. The Capitals are solid at every position, and their goaltending only has to be good - not great - for them to stand an excellent chance of hoisting the Cup.
3. Canada's Best Chance: After a complete defensive breakdown and out-of-character play in last year's playoffs, the Vancouver Canucks will be looking to rebound after making a couple of key acquisitions in the off-season. Gone are defencemen Willie Mitchell and Shane O'Brien, and in come prized unrestricted free agent Dan Hamhuis and the rough-and-tumble Keith Ballard. Many wonder if the two d-men will be enough to push the Canucks to the next level, and more importantly, if Roberto Luongo will be able to bounce back after some shaky post-season play. If so, the Canucks are poised for a long Stanley Cup run.
4. Will Olli Jokinen Suck? Now I'm not trying to be a Negative Nancy or anything, but once Darryl Sutter reacquired the much-maligned NHL centreman, fans went a little crazy in Cowtown. I think I've said enough about this already, so I'll just say only one thing more: if Olli's amazing, Sutter's a genius, if he tanks, Sutter's fired - but I'm thinking he'll be somewhere in between. Just mediocre. Olli okay. Besides, Flames fans will have much more to worry about if they fail to make the playoffs again. Like their collective sanity.
5. What Will Sidney Crosby Improve Next?Foot-speed? Check. Stick-handling? Check. Faceoff percentage? Check. Goals? Check. Beard growth? Desperately needing work.
6. Blackhawks Down: The off-season saw the departure of Dustin Byfuglien, Kris Versteeg, John Madden, Brent Sopel, Andrew Ladd, Antti Niemi and Adam Burish - but throughout their cap management gymnastics, Chicago still managed to maintain their core group of players. However, many are questioning if the Blackhawks have done sufficient damage control in the acquisition of new players like Marty Turco and Fernando Pisani. The loss of toughness, size and character could mean the Blackhawks will have to shape themselves a new team image. With it could come a whole new outcome.
7. Price Ou Halak: Pierre Gauthier's decision to ship out Jaroslav Halak was a choice not taken lightly by Habs fans, some who, just weeks before, had feverishly purchased Halak jerseys during Montreal's playoff run...those poor suckers. So now the inevitable question: who will have the better season? It's going to be one of the more intriguing mysteries to unravel this season. Remember Habs fans: Carey Says Relax. But actually. Relax. Christ, you guys are nuts.
8. The Saves, The Hits, The Highlight Reel Goals: It's what we live for, these moments. It's what makes this game so special. I'm ready to have my mind blown apart, reassembled, then ripped to shreds again by the awesomeness that is soon to ensue. Speaking of mind-blowing...Jordan-FREAKIN'-Eberle, anyone?
9. Winter Classics: This year's annual Winter Classic festivities will feature the Washington Capitals versus the Pittsburgh Penguins (omgsocreative), but the most awesomest part of it all is that a few weeks before, HBO will be airing their own mini-documentary on all the pre-game preparations leading up to the big day on January 1st. This is a win for hockey.
10. Hockey Players All Sweaty: And finally, the NHL marketing team always comes out with amazing advertising campaigns - that's one part of the league that never fails to impress me. Well. Except for this. This was bad.
Their latest advertising foray is called "Questions Will Become Answers", and it's fantastic. It features the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Ryan Miller, Jonathan Toews, and Mike Cammalleri all up in the gym just working on their fitness. There's more to it than that though, I promise.
Similar to the NFL's "Hard Knocks" mini-documentaries, the HBO series will be called "24/7 Penguins/Capitals: Road To The NHL Winter Classic", and will feature an inside look at the players' preparations leading up the NHL's fourth Winter Classic on January 1st, 2011.
The cameras will know no boundaries - inside the locker rooms, at team meetings, within players' homes, on plane rides - HBO touts it as "unprecedented access."
The series will contain four episodes airing weekly at 10pm, starting on December 15th, 22nd, 29th, and then finally on January 5th, which will chronicle the events of the actual outdoor game.
In keeping with HBO tradition, all dialogue between players and coaches will be uncensored. Which is freakin' amazing. I look forward to eavesdropping on Bruce Boudreau, because that man was born to be uncensored.
“I think it’s going to be pretty cool to have them follow us around a bit. I’m sure it will be something that we look back on and it will be great to see the interaction with all the guys and all the preparation leading up to games. That will be pretty neat to have all the footage of. Hopefully fans will get to know our team a little better as regular people as well.”
“Taking our reality series ‘24/7’ into the world of the National Hockey League is a perfect fit. The ‘24/7’ franchise is fashioned on larger-than-life personalities, engaging storylines, and unrestricted access. With Sidney Crosby leading the Penguins and Alex Ovechkin leading the Capitals, we have all the ingredients for a dynamic show that will take viewers deep inside professional hockey and set the stage for the Winter Classic.”
“Most fans just see us in our equipment playing the game. Yes, they might see us up on the scoreboard doing some different charitable things, but I really think they are going to see a different side of us, the real us. They will see what it’s like when we get dressed in the locker room and what the atmosphere is. It’s way more than just skating around.”
"We've been pretty strict with access to the locker room and we've always felt that the locker room at the practice rink or the main rink is really a player sanctuary. They have to have some place where they can work and have some privacy; that's why we've been strict. But with HBO -- after watching what they did with 'Hard Knocks' and everything else and seeing some of the other programs that they've done, they're big time. We're going to give them unfettered access, because we thought 'Hard Knocks' was great."
"If I'm gonna say some bad words it's gonna be Russian words...this is gonna be probably my favorite show. It’s pretty cool experience, sick. For the team, for the guys, for the organization, it’s a big step forward. We’re gonna be on TV again, so it’s good.”
105.9 The X, a local Pittsburgh radio station, had Max Talbot on to talk a little bit about the upcoming Winter Classic starring his own Pittsburgh Penguins versus the Washington Capitals. Max has never been one to pull any punches, and today was no exception - just listen to his answer when he was asked about his feelings towards one Alexander Ovechkin. Find the full interview here - the first blow comes about a minute in. Hilarious.
This has got to be the best thing I have ever heard of.
The Stills frontman Tim Fletcher wrote a freaking SONG about Alexander Ovechkin because he thinks The Great One is...well...great. The song is called "Alexander Ovechkin". You can read all about it on CHARTAttack's website here. You can also listen to the song here.
Highlights of the interview include:
And why did you write a song about him?
About a year ago Olivier [Corbeil, bass] in the band had gone to Cuba for a couple weeks and I got all my recording gear and I just set up in Olivier's fifth floor apartment overlooking the city and I just started writing tunes and recording anything.
And the day before Olivier came back I caught a Washington Capitals game on TV and The Glory was fucking intense. He had a hat trick and was smashing everyone and just jumping all over the place and the whole building was going crazy... and I couldn't stop thinking about how glorious it was and how inspiring and awesome it was. And I was just like, "I'm going to write a song about it," fuck it.
What do you think Alexander's reaction would be if he heard it?
The thing is, we actually met him six or seven months ago at a party and we were chatting with him and I was like, "Hey dude, I wrote a song about you." And he was like, "Oh, yeah! That's unbelievable! You should send it to me."
Repeat: best thing I have heard all year. Not the song. The song is average at best. Just...the news in general. Best thing ever.
Alex Ovechkin has been drowning in trophies and accolades ever since his entrance into the NHL. His name has been commonplace come award season in mid-June, where the argument is usually not of who will win the Hart, the Rocket Richard, or the Art Ross, but instead of who will finish second to the Great 8. This year, however, all pre-written praises and shoe-in ballots have been put on hold, or hastily stuffed away. Because Alex Ovechkin could win nothing this year. Nothing at all.
With a week left in the NHL season, Ovechkin leads in none of the categories he so dominated in the past. Henrik Sedin heads the Art Ross charge with 104 points, and Sidney Crosby has a tentative grasp on the Rocket Richard race, leading Ovechkin and the upstart Steve Stamkos by just a single tally. As for the Hart award, given to the "player adjudged most valuable to his team," Buffalo's Ryan Miller, Vancouver's Henrik Sedin, and Phoneix's Ilya Bryzgalov have all been arguably more "valuable" to their teams. Miller and Bryzgalov have been immeasurable to Buffalo and Phoenix's success, leading their respectively average teams into playoffs berths. To take away Henrik Sedin from the Canucks would result in a loss of their Northwest division lead and a detraction from one of the League's most potent offences. On the other hand, if you subtracted Ovie's 46 goals from the Cap's total goal amount, they would still have the number one offence overall, and when Ovechkin has been injured or suspended, the Capitals have skipped to a 7-2-1 record.
I don't want to toot Sidney Crosby's horn too much (because Lord knows I do), but this year Crosby has stepped up his goal output by a significant amount, and with considerably less talent flanking his line. Last season Crosby wound up with all of 33 goals, but as of today, he sits pretty with 47. His equally formidable teammate Evgeni Malkin has missed a substantial amount of games this year, so Crosby has also had to step in and fill any offensive holes left by Malkin's absence. Perhaps there's a remote chance at an MVP nod to Crosby then.
I don't want to ignore what Ovechkin has done this year for the Caps, however, because what he's accomplished has been spectacular. Having played just 65 games, Ovechkin is easily keeping pace with the NHL's top scorers in both total points and total goals. His +/- remains tops in the league. And after the disappointment at the Vancouver Olympics, Ovechkin has remained sublime on a line with Backstrom and Knuble. To top things off, he made a sweet pass to set up an Alex Semin goal yesterday night.
There is a dualism in this article title that hints at more than just a matter of trophies, however.
"Goaltending", the annual buzzword of the NHL playoffs, and perhaps the most important position conducive to playoff success, seems to be the Achilles' heel for both top seed contenders Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks. Rejuvenated Caps netminder Jose Theodore has finally been able to pull together a consistent string of wins (17-0-2 in his last 19), but he has given up 8 goals in his last 2 games, and was pulled Sunday night against Calgary.
The Blackhawks, on the other hand, have had back-and-forth goaltending all season, alternating between the equally inconsistent Cristobal Huet and Antti Niemi. Neither one has proven himself to the be-all, end-all Number One, and both have shown flashes of brilliance followed by a flurry of shaky goals. This could spell trouble for a young Blackhawks team that is stumbling into the stretch drive of the regular season.
Ovechkin could win it all, or lose it all. Of course, there is the possibility for some "in between", and that could very well happen; a jagged-edge of hockey hardware. Knowing Ovechkin though, I wouldn't be surprised if he pulls out something magical, something grand, because flash and dazzle is right up his alley. He is, after all, Great.
"What parent in the States watching is going to want to put their kid in hockey? We have to do something to stop this." - Blackhawks D-man Brian Campbell
Indeed Brian Campbell, we do have to do something to stop this. But what? The other Mr. Campbell, one Colin the Disciplinarian, has given the League and its fan more than a few headaches over what constitutes a suspendable play, what doesn't, what fits in with league rules, what gets overlooked, and all the other politics that get mixed into a climactic two-game suspension. Or non-suspension.
Half of me doesn't want to talk about this anymore. Seriously. I'm so sick of all this disgusting behavior in the NHL over the past two weeks, that it's hurting my head just thinking about it. Probably a little less than Marc Savard's head is hurting right now, and probably a little more than Matt Cooke's conscious is weighing on him - nonetheless...
Here are three very controversial cases with three very different results. Which one, in your opinion, was handled most reasonably by the League?
1. Steve Downie gets handed an astronomical $1000 fine for his dangerous pretzel-leg play on Sidney Crosby, which could have been a potential season-ender for dear ol' Sid. Downie makes $4,300 a day. He gets a $1000 fine. You sure showed him, Mr. Campbell. Luckily for the Penguins, Crosby wasn't injured on the play. Campbell doesn't seem to take into consideration intent though. The dirtiness and riskiness of Downie's play. Nope. No injury, no foul. What an idiot proof plan.
2. Alex Ovechkin receives a two-game suspension for his "reckless" hit on Brian Campbell during a Caps-Hawks game last Sunday. The hit divided the masses into two different schools of thought: either it was a dangerous hit, and he deserved the punishment, or it was just another strong, big-bodied hockey play. I think Campbell put himself in a vulnerable position, and Ovechkin made him pay. Could Ovechkin have let up? Certainly. In fact, he should have. But Ovie is not that type of player, and that's not the way he plays the game.
3. What has baffled me most, however, is Matt Cooke's blindside on Marc Savard. Cooke recevied no suspension on the play because, as Colin Campbell explained, there's no current NHL rule that penalizes head shots, and also that the League "has to be consistent," alluding to Mike Richards' eerily similar headshot on David Booth earlier this year. This stupefies me for two reasons. First of all, the last time I checked, the NHL is able to dole out suspensions to whoever they deem had an "intent to injure," in which Cookie would be prime candidate #1. But in the name of "consistency," which is ludicrous because I say screw consistency, a player's health is in jeopardy, Cooke escapes scot-free.
Colin, it's time to discard your pride, throw down a 10-game suspension for first time headshot offenders, 20-games for second time offenders, and the rest of the season for third timers. Done.
I like the Pittsburgh Penguins almost as much as Robin from How I Met Your Mother likes emperor penguins. I think it's best to say this before I go into anything Crosby/Ovechkin related, just 'cause like...bias 'n stuff.
The Penguins Report on Pittsburgh's official website has some good tidbits about tomorrow's tilt between the Pens and the Caps. Here's what Ovechkin said when asked if he "hates Crosby":
I respect him as a player and as a person. When we step on the ice I only respect my teammates, only the red jersey or white, whether we play away or at home. Off the ice I can shake hands. I can say hi like normal people. I think on the ice you don’t have friends. If you have friends on the ice it’s bad for you. You may say I’m not going to hit this guy or stop him on a breakaway or something like that. I respect him as a player. He is one of the best players in the league. He will become more of an unbelievable player. For right now, on the ice he is my rival. That’s the same with everybody.
Darn. I was hoping for an answer that went something like, "I hate him a lot". Also, Pens coach Dan Bylsma on the Crosby vs. Ovechkin rivalry:
Is there a rivalry? It’s based on the fact that they are two very, very good players, that they’re dynamic, that they’re some of the best in the league. It’s fueled a lot by the media. I don’t think there is a personal feud between the two...it adds a lot to the attention of the game. Those two guys are out there as a part of a team. There is a rivalry amongst the team. That’s a team that we’ve battled with and beat last year. There is a dynamic because they are a very good team as are we. Most of it’s media attention. When they snarl at each other or look at each other you guys want to make something of it. It’s based on how good they are as players, how competitive they are and that these are two good teams that seem to be butting heads at pivotal times in the season.
For the most part I think Bylsma is right: there's not as much hatred between the two players as there is between two highly competitive teams. However, let's not forget this bit of pushing and shoving that often plays on television whenever this well-worn discussion crops up. Both Crosby and Ovechkin are some of the hardest working players in the league, and they use their bodies in aggressive, sometimes confrontational ways - thus whenever these two clash, as has been shown in the past, a spark has erupted that feels a bit more like a heated rivalry between individuals, and less like a competition fabricated by the media, as Bylsma suggested. Eagerly anticipating tomorrow. In other news, John Shorthouse just called a scramble near the Oilers blue line a "malfunction at the junction," which makes me very happy.
The Loser Point is a hockey blog for all the junkies who love and worship the sport as much as I do. I have an irregular obsession for playoff mullets, Sami Salo’s peanuts, and Sidney Crosby’s two front teeth.
I'm not sure if you can call this the first National Hockey League "fight" that Ovechkin has ever been in - he got into a tussle with Mike Richards and was pushed around by Paul Gaustad - but it is the first time he's ever legitimately squared up with another player with the intention of throwing 'em, and then actually going through with it. No Matt Bradley to stop you this time, Ovie.
