The Onion on Ovechkin

Via Mr. Irrelevant:
Huge Game tonight. Win and it's 3-1 with a chance to close tomorrow at home, lose and it becomes a best of 3.

LETS GO CAPS!!!

Reasons I love Alex Ovechkin

Today: (via DCsportsbog Twitter)

Asked about the perception that the league promotes Crosby more than him, Ovechkin cracked, "He's superstar. Me, I'm just like you guys."

Whether you like it or not Mr. Bettman, this is the face of the NHL

(Image via JP)

What a beast.

The Toronto Globe and Mail:

Despite Kovalev’s crowd-pleasing heroics, if there was any doubt that the NHL now belongs to the Washington Capitals’ ebullient Alexander Ovechkin, whose showmanship and gap-toothed exuberance immediately won over the Montreal crowd, it was likely dispelled at Saturday night’s skills competition.

. . .

Ovechkin also scored a goal in regulation and added three assists, his crafty deke to outwit Luongo in the shootout prompted cries of “Ovie, Ovie”

Reasons #301 and 302 why I love Alex Ovechkin

Even during the off-season, the guy is still a freaking hero. First we start with A.O running into a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer at the Olympics(Via J.P):

Near the back, I came upon Alex Ovechkin sitting alone on a wall over a pond. The Russians brought the Washington Capitals winger and reigning NHL MVP here to help promote the Sochi Games.

"You all by yourself?" I asked.

"No, I'm with friends," he said, although they were nowhere in sight.

I told him I was from the Pittsburgh paper and had interviewed him several times.

"Pittsburgh?" Ovechkin said, lighting up a bit. "Tell [Sidney] Crosby hello."

"What about [Evgeni] Malkin?" I asked.

"Him, too."

Simply awesome. Second, via japer's rink and tuvanhillbilly we have this. Apparently it's from a Russian comedy show, but it really speaks for itself.



My mind has been shattered. And we have this guy for 13 years? It's too good to be true.

Is it hockey season yet?

It's been a long time comin'

A historic moment occurred for Capitals fans tonight, as Alexander Ovechkin became the first player in team history to win the NHL's Hart Trophy, given annually to the league's most valuable player. In addition to Ovie's milestone, coach Bruce Boudreau was honored with the Jack Adams trophy for coach of the year, the first given to a Caps coach since Bryan Murray in 1984. Furthermore, Ovechkin won the Lester B. Pearson award for MVP, as voted by the NHL players themselves, joining his Maurice "Rocket" Richard (most regular season goals scored) and Art Ross (most regular season points) trophies in his total awards cache.

It's not as if this man could become any more impressive going into the awards ceremony, but somehow, that's exactly what he did. Ovechkin just defies logic at every possible turn. A 22-year-old, hard-working, polite, humble, team-oriented superstar in this current climate of athletes is simply not something you see very often. I've been in attendance at the Verizon Center when he receives the puck in the midst of play and the buzz that resonates throughout the building at that very moment is unlike anything I've experienced before. The whole crowd is just expecting him to do something unexpected. With a haul of 65 goals and 47 assists last season, they had every reason to do so.

Granted, the Washington Capitals have only been in existence since 1974, a relatively short lifespan compared to other clubs in the league. In that short history, the Caps can claim a few truly great players, or players that would go on to achieve greatness after having played with us.

But Ovechkin is something entirely different.

For the first time ever, the Caps have, without a doubt, the best player in the league (and the world, for that matter). Really, when has any Washington sports team ever had the best player in its respective sport? The Wizards had Jordan, but way beyond his prime. The Bullets won an NBA championship led by Wes Unseld, but in no way was he the best player in the league. Honestly, I can only think of Sammy Baugh for the Skins and maybe Walter Johnson of Washington Senators fame, each one of them playing decades upon decades ago.

What I'm trying to say is that Alexander Ovechkin is truly re-writing history in the here and now. I feel like it will be a really significant thing to say you got to see him in person one day. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I hope tonight's haul of trophies will lead to Ovie lifting the most prestigious one of them all in the future.

CONGRATS TO OVIE, BOUDREAU AND THE WASHINGTON CAPITALS!

A crushing blow

How does that old saying go? It's better to have loved and lost... or something, than to... something something? Well, whatever it is, it just about sums up the Caps' playoff experience after a heart-wrenching overtime loss in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals.

I guess I got so caught up in the excitement of having playoff hockey around again that I forgot to mention a few things. First, that as exhilarating and fun as the playoffs can be, they can be equally as devastating when you lose. In a game filled with dubious calls, including one which gifted Philadelphia a power play goal in OT, to lose at home after clawing all the way back from a 3-1 series deficit... well, it just sucked, quite frankly.

The other thing I neglected to mention, probably out of fear of bad karma, was that the words "Playoffs" and "Disappointment" have gone hand in hand throughout the Capitals' history. Apart from one magical run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1998 (which we lost, 4-games-to-0, to the Detroit Red Wings), Washington was known for blowing the big games. I thought it would be different this time because those teams of the past never had Alex Ovechkin, but I found myself reliving the same familiar memories from elementary school of a first or second round exit for the Caps.

This is not meant to overlook how incredible this season was. Either me or J will write up a proper eulogy of the season sometime in the near future. And, unlike all those years back in the day, the Wizards are still alive in the NBA Playoffs (albeit, just barely) and I will be at Verizon tonight commemorating a year in which the Redskins, Caps and Wizards all made the playoffs. I've been lucky enough to be in attendance at critical games for all three (Capitals Game 5, Redskins vs. Cowboys which we needed to win to make the playoffs, and tonight's game). Contrast that with the days when all three teams sucked and there was no baseball team to even speak of (let alone, a brand new stadium) and it's hard to really complain. So, I'll take in the playoff game tonight, have a few beers and chalk it up as an overall win for D.C. sports.

Reason #193 Why I love Alex Ovechkin

From Tarik El-Bashir's chat today over at the post:

Arlington, Va.: Explain to me the logic of moving Ovie down in front of the net? Why take the puck away from the game's most dangerous sniper? We need him to shoot the puck, not set up for deflections.

Tarik El-Bashir: I was told that Ovechkin actually volunteered to go in front.

Not saying that I don't agree with the question, but it's that type of leadership and commitment that will make him one of the greatest to ever play the game.

Update: Why not add reasons 194 and 195 while were at it:



Oh yeah, and speaking of game 6, I should mention that even though there isn't video of it online yet, Mike Green's Scott Stevens-esque stickless hip check was poetry in motion. Game 7 is too intense to think about rationally right now, so if you want a real preview check out J.P.'s spot as always.