Ovechkin a star among lampposts

Spectacle. It's a word you don't often hear associated with the NHL. But when Alex Ovechkin took to the ice to perform in the NHL's Breakaway Challenge, that's exactly what it was. The Washington Capital performed a few tricky moves, then skated back to the blue line for some assistance from Russian national teammate Evgeni Malkin. Hat on, sunglasses polished, Ovechkin completed his final breakaway attempt, then basked in the glory of the cheering crowd.

While other skaters seemed like they were in a race to get the whole event over with, Ovechkin did exactly what the NHL intended this event to do: imitate the NBA Slam-dunk competition. Like when Amare Stoudemire slammed home a basketball that had just riccocheted off Steve Nash's head, Ovechkin gave the crowd something to laugh at and be dazzled by.

The Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard was a force to be reckoned with under the basket for a couple seasons, but when he tied a Superman cape around his neck and slammed home what was otherwise a 3-star dunk, he rocketed to stardom in the NBA. It's about the fun and the spectacle. Sure, all the players in the Breakaway Challenge were talented, but who gave us something to talk about the next day?

To put it succinctly, Ovechkin gets it.

Some hockey players are so dumbfounded by the media spotlight, that they shy away from it. Ovechkin, on the other hand, knows that the NHL needs a star, not a series of lampposts.

There are so many opportunities for boastfullness during the NHL All-Star competition, but the most you'll ever get out of Sidney Crosby or Dany Heatley is a light-hearted chuckle and a joking challenge to his teammmates. I don't mean to offend, but it's the same old, tired shit, and it doesn't get hits on youtube.

To the so-called stars of the NHL: bring something new and remarkable to the fans or 20% of your salary will continue to drain into the pockets of owners through escrow. Ovechkin gets it. How long before you catch on?

Seriously? We can't beat these guys?

Hilarious feature on Sports Illustrated comparing hockey players to their celebrity look-alikes (although not all are really celebrities). Some of them are hilarious, and some of them make me feel bad for the player (notably comparing Jarome Iginla to Mike Tyson and Alex Ovechkin to Richard Kiel).

And these two kids are who's intimidating our Sens? Come on...


Give me a break. Although I guess we're fighting back with at least one unfortunate comparison of our own...


Hilarious. Although they missed out on the Martin Gerber - Dominic Purcell comparison:


Alright, fine, this is just a distraction to help us forget about the Sens terrible loss. It's okay, when the Sens realize they're just playing against Andy Samberg and Nick Jonas (some kid in some band) and Martin "Dominic Purcell" Gerber breaks out of his proverbial mental prison and kicks some ass.

(Note: Propers to Kukla's Korner for finding this gem of a web page.)

Take the good, learn from the bad

While a 4-0 loss is not the ideal way to start a series, I do think that there is some good stuff this team can build on, and some bad stuff this team can learn from. There's still a chance of earning a split on the road, as long as the Sens pick it up--big time--for game two.

First off, Martin Gerber is not the reason for the loss. Quite the opposite, in fact, as Gerber kept the Sens in this one through the second period. He made some solid saves, and can't really be faulted on any of the four goals:

1. Wade Redden got brutally muscled off the puck (and it probably should have been a penalty) twice, and the puck squirted to Gary Roberts in front of the Sens net; Gerber had two guys lying in the crease and a third standing there.
2. Mike Commodore made a terrible pinch, and Chris Phillips didn't play the 2-on-1 well at all. Gerber was set up perfectly for the shooter (Evgeni Malkin), while Phillips left the pass receiver (Petr Sykora) wide open. You learn it in Atom, Phillips; take the pass, let the goalie take the shot.
3. This was just the case of a young rookie, Nick Foligno, makign a rookie mistake and losing his check, Malkin. When you let him get in the open, he'll make you pay.
   
4. Write-off. Powerplay goal that went in off a foot, this was a fluke that any goalie could have surrendered.

If Gerber and the rest of the team can build off his play, then that's one question mark we can check off going into it.

After Gerber, there was some good work from the grinders. Role players like Dean McAmmond, Martin Lapointe, Cody Bass, and Christoph Schubert were all very physical, and they'll need to keep that up. Ottawa's fourth line was tremendously outplayed by Pittsburgh's, and George Laraque was able to make too much room for himself. Although Randy Robitaille had his moments, he fizzled when the game got more physical; I suggest throwing Lapointe on the top line in game two, and bringing in Brian McGrattan to try and contain Laraque. Even if they just fight and McGrattan brings him back to the box every five minutes, I'm fine with that.

Bad points were common. Obviously, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza need to develop more of an interest in the outcome of the game. Heatley looked particularly out of whack, even though his chirping was in fine form. They threw 12 shots towards the net, but they're going to need to get better shots if they think they're going to score some goals. This team is only going as far as those two take it, no matter how well the grinders play.

The play of the big two was part of a bigger problem: the Sens' powerplay. When you're given almost two full minutes of 5-on-3 time, you need to take advantage. Especially in such an urgent situation, because the Sens were down 2-0 at the time, and this game would have been very different had the Sens cut that lead in half on one of those powerplays. As it was, the team went 0-for-7 on the powerplay, which is unacceptable in the post-season. Things need to get dirty. And shots need to get smarter. Andrej Meszaros can't try and shoot through people; he fired two one-timers that were right into shinpads, both of which would have given the Pens breakaways had Meszaros not gotten back quickly enough. And the team can't fire 21 shots wide of the net. When you're winding up, make sure yo know where you're shooting. It's simple.

I still think the Sens have a shot to split this series in game two. The score made this game look a lot worse than it actually was, the Sens allowed a couple of bad goals early and a couple of bad goals late; between those, there was som great play. Keep playign hard on Sidney Crosby; he was limited in his ability, and good on Redden and Chris Neil for riding him around the net. Most of all, get right up in Marc-Andre Fleury's business. Make it hell for him to try and stop pucks, throw yourselves towards the net, and let your stick fly around him (without taking penalties, of course). He's rattle-able, so shake it up. Hopefully Anton Volchenkov is back for game two, and he makes some opponents feel his pain. And maybe Antoine Vermette will pull something out of his bag of tricks.

Game 1: Did you expect it to be easy?

The eternal optimist in me wants to focus on the positives, but let's get the shitty stuff out of the way first.

The Sens looked like a team that was missing some of their best players tonight. The team didn't flip the effort switch until the third period, where they began to follow my advice: If you can't play well, play dirty.

The well-deserved frustration boiled over late in the game and the Senators began to play rough. Good! Next game, start this in the first period. Get in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin's face and let them know that you'll be coming after them all game.

I was happy to see Wade Redden drop the gloves. Get riled up for God's sake. Do not go quietly into game 2. Let the Penguins know that they're in for a fight. Hopefully, this attitude will translate into aggressive forechecking and maybe, a goal.

There appeared to be no leaders on the Senators in game 1. Dany Heatley was jawing at Crosby quite a bit, but he did not come lead with an offensive spark. Randy Robitaille accompanied Jason Spezza and Heatley on the top line, but none of these three players had an impact. One of the players I did notice, however, was Christoph Schubert. Playing smart, physical hockey I hope whatever advice he got from Bryan Murray is passed onto the rest of the team.

Well, I guess I'm not an optimist. Let's hope that game 2 can turn me into one. Otherwise, I'm looking forward to seeing Ray Emery in game 3. (That comment is only half sarcastic).

The word out of Pittsburgh

FrankD from the Pittsburgh Penguins blog PensBurgh contacted us to collaborate on some cooperative stories on our respective teams, and he answered a few questions we asked him in anticipation of the first-round series against the Pens:

1. What's the Penguins best asset?
   Everyone knows that Pittsburgh has the 'big name' offense. Personally, I feel the key asset to Pittsburgh's success this season has been hugely effected by their depth. At one point the Penguins had eight guys out with injuries - that's eight starters on the IR. Gary Roberts, Mark Eaton, Rob Scuderi, Sidney Crosby, Marian Hossa, Kris Beech, Adam Hall and Marc-Andre Fleury have all struggled with some setbacks this season. In their absence, assistance from the minor league Wilkes-Barre squad has produced some mainstay players like Tyler Kennedy and Ty Conklin. There's even been a few games this year powered ahead by guys like Jarkko Ruutu and Georges Laraque--guys not exactly known for offensive prowess. It's been exciting to see the Pens play this year because really, anyone can hit the mesh. Then again, in the case with Philly the other day, sometimes no one can.
   
   
2. The Pens' biggest liability?
   Liability - hmm. I place liability on a few things. First off, the penalty kill. Last I checked they were ranked 22nd in the league in killing penalties. When you have a team with guys like Gary Roberts, Jarkko Ruutu and Georges Laraque, you run a pretty decent risk of taking penalties; more often than not 'dumb ones'. Jordan Staal is one of our biggest penalty killers but really lacks on the draw. Pascal Dupuis has turned into a huge pickup since the trade deadline moves and is really making his presence known on the kill. It's hard to say really - the PK has been a bit tighter in the last 10 games or so - but if it has and the Pens are still ranked 22nd, then that also goes to show you how well it performed beforehand...
   The other thing, as touched upon with Staal, is face-offs. This is definitely not the Penguins' strength. I'm convinced guys like Adam Hall have only found their way back to the club after injury because of their percentage on the draw (he's slightly over 50%). Crosby is decent, [Evgeni] Malkin is OK and Staal is probably one of the worst.
   
   
3. What intimidates you about the Sens?
   The biggest threat is, and I don't mean this as a jab, thankfully not playing. Daniel Afreddson is probably my biggest fear as far as the Sens go, but that's not to say I'm writing them off at all. [Jason] Spezza and [Dany] Heatley won't go down without a fight, this I know for sure. In addition to players, I think I speak for a lot of Pens fans in that away games against Ottawa aren't always the most welcoming events of the year. Nothing beats an intense Canadian hockey crowd. Add in the playoffs on top of that and you may break the sound barrier.
   
   
4. What makes you think the Sens are in trouble?
   Well, as far as trouble goes, I'd imagine not having your captain for the playoffs is a pretty big hit to the team's morale. But I also don't doubt he'll find a way into the locker room to try and rally the troops. I've felt Ottawa's slide into the playoffs doesn't help, as evidence has often shown that teams do better in the playoffs coming off a streak (i.e. Washington). I can't say for sure what Ottawa's biggest problem may be, although I'm hoping you'll answer that when I come back around to you.
   
   
5. Seriously... Marc-Andre Fleury? Is he an answer?
   You'd be surprised. Fleury started the season off a bit shaky, started to heat up and then went down with the ankle sprain. That kept him out for nine weeks. While rehabilitating in the minors he went 3-2-0, but the two losses were merely no thanks to his offense as both were 1-0 finishes. He's been phenomenal in net. It has worked out well for the Penguins, as Ty Conklin started to go cold just as Fleury was coming back around again. MAF is 10-2-1 with two shutouts since his March return and has only allowed more than two goals a game on one occasion (three on March 6th against Florida). He may wind up being the Pens' biggest asset heading into the playoffs. I know this sounds insane with names like Crosby, Malkin, Hossa and [Petr] Sykora but it's true. Stat sheets would say that as long as Pitt puts up two goals, they have a great chance of coming out on top. That's what I'm mentally shooting for in every game against the Senators.
   
   
6. Do you like the idea of mailing in the final game in the season against Philadelphia? Were most Pittsburgh fans and pundits in favour of playing Ottawa instead of Philly in the first round?
   There has been a lot of talk about whether or not Pittsburgh gave a lackluster effort against the Flyers to take on Ottawa in round one. Personally, this is what gives a coach the nod for strategy. If you know you've struggled all season against a team (5-3 series) against a team like Philly, why would you want to run the chance of wasting a phenomenal 82-game season in the first round? Not to mention, why run the chance of having your guys subjected to foul play? If every game this season against Philly was evidence to one thing, it was that they weren't ready to man-up and play straight hockey. It was going to take cheap shots and late hits to give them the edge. So Coach Michel Therrien must've decided, "You know what? Let Washington and Philly duke it out and mess each other up. We'll take a rematch with Ottawa."
   I put up a survey one day at Pensburgh.com asking readers who they'd rather play: Philly, Ottawa or Boston (still factored in at the time). Overwhelmingly, 56% of people chose Ottawa, while Boston and Philly both came in even at 21%. I think revenge was a bigger factor than anything else.
   Overall, if Pittsburgh is going to be perceived as a team that mailed in the last game of the season then so be it. If sacrificing the conference title increases their chances of taking home the cup, then I think I speak for many Penguins fans when I say "Good job."

Thanks to FrankD for his enlightening comments. Keep your eye on PensBurgh to find Sens Army's answers to whatever questions he sends out way.