The most explosive player I’ve ever seen.
Something special is happening right now in the NHL. Forget that most people won’t see it because it’s buried on a channel that carries Ted Nugent hunting and second tier MMA. Forget that it gets buried on ESPN because the network has no vested interest in the game. Forget that for all the passion and excitement of last week’s Bulls-Celtics seven-game classic, the energy level on the ice in the Verizon Center in Washington, DC felt multiple notches higher.
For those who have braved the nether regions of the remote control or the morning sessions of weekend hockey, we have seen something special. Last night, the two premiere stars of the game clashed. Sidney Crosby — long anointed the future king of the game — had the crown stolen from him by Alexander Ovechkin. Not to say that Crosby wasn’t excellent, his three goals were a testament to grit and workmanlike determination, a product of playing obscenely large within close quarters of the Capitals net.
Yet Overchkin played at a level unlike any player in the game. In the first 90 seconds of the game, he annouced his presence with a circus deflection that almost resulted in the game’s first goal. In the opening minutes of the second period, he tied the game with a one-timed blast from the top of the circle. His second goal was nearly identical, backing his way into position for another blast, taking the lead 3-2 on another rocket with just over seven minutes to go in the game. In between the offensive bursts, he flew around the ice, throwing his body around like no star player I’ve ever seen. Yet his offensive heroics are what make him the player he is, and his third goal was vintage Ovechkin. Using his speed and stick-handling abilities during a one-on-one rush to rocket a snapshot past an unsuspecting goalie that never had a chance, it’s a goal that only Ovechkin can make look routine. Even the 23-year-old Russian was impressed.
“Sick game. Sick three goals by me and Crosby,” Ovechkin said. “It’s unbelievable to see how fans react, how fans go crazy. The atmosphere right now, it’s unbelievable in town. You see all the red, and — probably I’m afraid to go home right now.”
Ovechkin and Crosby squaring off has the prestige of a Mickelson – Woods final group at a major… if Tiger could take a run at Phil and decleat him on Amen Corner. The fact that Crosby and Ovechkin don’t necessarily like each other makes this even better theater. While the NBA playoffs loom far larger in the American sports fan’s conscience (would ESPN have it any other way?), seeing players hug and pal around before the game removes the illusion that these players, these teams, hate each other. Yet when the series between the Caps and the Pens concludes, and the teams shake hands at center ice, it’ll be evident that while both teams take their gloves off, most would rather drop them than acknowledge the winner’s accomplishments.
As Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said after the game, “When you build up the hype of superstars playing against each other, and then the superstars play like superstars, it’s a neat thing.”
As the series shifts back to Pittsburgh, into the kingdom of Sid the Kid, expect the series and its intensity to grow. Now all you have to do is find it on TV.
Believe me… it’ll be worth it.
Filed under: NHL Tagged: | Alexander Ovechkin, Hat tricks, Sidney Crosby
