At yesterday's morning skate, Alex Ovechkin was asked about facing his former teammate, Olie Kolzig, and noted that "it's good he's going to play because we know where to shoot on him." Upon being further prodded, AO smiled and clarified: "Head high."When made aware of those comments, Kolzig responded, "The difference was, in practice, when it was head high, I couldn't take any liberties because he was my teammate. Now? Heads up."
So how'd it play out during the game? Fast-forward to around the 1:50 mark of this clip:
You can't say he didn't warn you that he was coming upstairs, Olie. Oh, and we're still waiting on those "liberties."
17 comments:
Embed this one for the goal itself (no fast forward):
http://www.nhl.tv/team/console.jsp?hlg=20082009,2,214&event=WSH614
@ Tim: It wasn't the goal I was highlighting - it was Ovie's collarbone high rocket of a wrist shot in the first.
Quick game thoughts:
Flash, wherefore art thou Flash? Talk about inconsistency. Flash has played 132 games in the NHL. We shouldn't be sitting around waiting for him to decide on which nights he's going to show up.
I think Backie is going to be more inclined to shoot when he isn't flanked by 8 and 28. He's gotta shoot more. If you're gonna keep that line together, put Nyls or 91 between the two stars.
Brash was obviously complaining about the penalty. But giving him an extra two for a mild -- tres mild -- door slam is petty and silly. He's not a rookie.
My quick thought on the game? It's nice for the Caps, on the eve of Veteran's Day, to recognize one of the soldier's from Walter Reed as the fan of the game, but for the love of god - you can't tell the guy to "stay in his seat" to await the arrival of his prize when he's in a friggin' wheelchair.
jp: my fault, haha, way too early for me :)
The Caps have one more home game before a long road trip. Good time to point out that among the teams in the top eleven of the Eastern Conference, only the Caps have a 'losing' record on the road.
that highlight reel was missing OV's crushing hit behind the Lightning net.
Tyler: Just because flash didn't put up any points doesn't mean he wasn't kicking ass out there. He was motoring and doing stuff. Why would you even say he wasn't? Stats aren't everything.
I guess by that same measure, Ovechkin's been inconsistent because he normally scores all the damn time!
Also, how more precise can a pass get on that fourth goal? My god that was beauty.
Flash? "Kicking ass?" If there's one Capital whose play does not bring to mind the phrase "kicking ass" it's Flash.
Personally, I thought Flash played a decent game last night, though I did miss some of the 2nd period. The whole top line is a mess. Both Alexes pass more when the other Alex is around and Backstrom won't shoot at all between them. Ovie needs to remember that he scored a lot by shooting a lot. Everyone on that line needs to shoot more.
All that said, I will take the 2 points and smile.
Oh, and, speaking of Flash, Nylander should have buried the golden chance Flash gave him where the puck popped out into the crease from behind the net.
I suppose that is nitpicking, however.
Hazardous you are right on. In watching "NHL ON THE FLY" for highlights they mentioned only that OV broke the goalless streak. That pass from Semin was incredible in every way and deserves recognition on its own merits, regardless of who buried it. I have no comment on Flash other than to say this year is better than last, but he needs more consistency.
@hazaradous, no that doesn't mean ovechkin is inconsistent, hes been consistently bad this season. Unless your taking about season to season then yes is YTD numbers are way out of whack .
The problem is, Ovechkin hasn't been bad this year, he just hasn't been scoring. Flash is having similar things. Flash is motoring, cycling the puck, made some awesome passes, and he's really coming into his own. His stats will come. Fact of the matter is 1) You're not going to find a better player for him in a trade, 2) He's getting things done and 3) He's young. Stop being so god damn jaded because Ovechkin was amazing right in his rookie year. Not every player DOES that.
I'm not sure how one watches Fleischmann play and ISN'T impressed. I have not seen as good a forechecker on this team in many years and it pays. More than that, he's been using his speed and puck handling ability far better this year. If he's "inconsistent" at all, it's because the lines keep getting jumbled and he strikes me as a player who needs to know what his linemates will do. The more his linemates change the less he can do.
I do have to redact what I said earlier about Olie, though. While I tried to whoop him when he had the puck behind the net once or twice in the second, I did end up standing and clapping for him after his tribute video.
He was my favorite player when he was a Cap. I hope, when he retires, he'll revert back to that for me.
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