November 8, 2011, Alex Ovechkin and Washington Capitals column for HockeyPrimeTime.com

Ovechkin, Capitals move forward from benching

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Written by Denis Gorman

Monday, November 07, 2011 20:51

It is difficult to fathom Alex Ovechkin being benched for ineffectiveness but that was the situation last Tuesday. In the last week, Ovechkin and the Capitals have moved forward, showing that winning no matter what is the priority. Alex Ovechkin was humiliated, angry and baffled. He had been told on the bench by coach Bruce Boudreau that he was ineffective while the Capitals trailed the Anaheim Ducks by a goal in the final minutes of regulation last Tuesday night. Alex Ovechkin … ineffective? The same Alex Ovechkin who has 307 goals and 627 points in 487 NHL games? The same Alex Ovechkin who has scored 50 or more goals four times, 40 or more five times and whose lowest single-season goal scoring output was 32 last season? “Well, I was pissed off,” Ovechkin said after the Capitals came from behind to beat the visiting Ducks, 5-4, in overtime. The Washington captain sat the final three minutes of regulation – in which his usual centerman, Nicklas Backstrom, tied the game 4-4 with his third goal of the season. Ovechkin was credited with the primary assist on Backstrom’s overtime game-winner. And what was Boudreau’s explanation for benching one of the five best players in the world? “I thought other guys were better than him and there was just a chance other guys might score the goal,” Boudreau told reporters. “Ninety-nine percent of the time, Alex is the guy I think is going to score the goal. I just didn’t think he was going score the goal at that time tonight. You go with your gut feeling.” Instantly, in an up-to-the-second news cycle, a story was born. Was this the first public fissure of a franchise in the midst of a power struggle? Is Ovechkin more concerned with his stats rather than team success? Is Boudreau attempting to assert his authority while rumors swirl regarding his job status? The game, the responses and the subsequent questions were gristles for a rumor mill. To be honest, the controversy was delicious. One of the NHL’s premier players on one of the league’s premier teams angry at his coach? But before the controversy could transform into a franchise-engulfing firestorm, there was Ovechkin on the ice at the Capitals’ practice facility the next day to work and study. What Ovechkin did – and more importantly, did not do – gained notice. “Alex understands and gets it. He’s a great captain that way. He gets mad because he wants to play and he wants to compete,” Boudreau told reporters. The game, the responses and the subsequent questions were gristles for a rumor mill. To be honest, the controversy was delicious. “It just a good thing to see,” added Ovechkin’s longtime right wing Mike Knuble. “He’s going to rebound the next day (and) maybe work a little bit harder in practice; get a bit of a message. Good to see it’s not carrying on; it’s just one game.” Ovechkin has responded to the in-game benching by recording a goal and two assists, along with six shots on goal, in Washington’s 5-1 win at Carolina Friday and its 5-3 loss to the Islanders Saturday. He was the best player on the Nassau Coliseum ice by a wide margin. Ovechkin played a mean-edged game on the Island; he took a two-minute minor for roughing P.A. Parenteau in the first period after the Islanders winger boarded Roman Hamrlik. Ovechkin drew a third-period interference penalty against New York defenseman Steve Staios that led to Brooks Laich’s power play goal that tied the game 3-3. Washington lost the match not because of Ovechkin – whose power-play bomb past Rick DiPietro in the first period gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead at intermission – but because of co-conspirators Tomas Vokoun and the defense units. Vokoun allowed four of New York’s five goals and three of the Islanders goals came off rebounds. “You can’t win when your goalie gives up three bad goals,” Vokoun said in an act of self-immolation. “I didn’t help the guys much.” So what does last week’s storm mean? In retrospect, nothing. Should Washington win the first Cup in franchise history come June or experience yet another playoff failure, invariably what transpired in Washington last week will become an oft-espoused illogical story arc. But the truth is that one public blowup is not indicative of a fragile franchise coming apart at the seams. Instead, it revealed a collection of competitors for whom winning is paramount. On Twitter: @HockeyPrimeTime and @DenisGorman Photo by Getty Images

Last Updated on Monday, November 07, 2011 22:00

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