Alexander the Average

Last night the Capitals were eliminated in 7 games by the Montreal Canadiens. Now before I throw any of my fan hood in the face of Caps fans, I applaud the Habs on what I would argue is the biggest upset in NHL playoff history. Even bigger than Dryden and the Canadiens beating Orr and the Bruins in the early 70s. I am blown away that Halak was able to stop almost 50 shots a night 3 games in a row, though I am not afraid of him in the 2nd round. The Caps were up 3-1 in the series and seemed to be in cruise control, then they stopped at KFC and a chicken bone got caught in their throat. They scored only one goal in each of the last 3 games of the series. Even losing a game 7 on home ice. They should be embarrassed, they were the best team in the regular season by a lot. The Canadiens were the eight seed, and arguably the worst team in the playoffs.

I am however torn over how I feel about this. As a Penguin's fan I am always happy to see Ovechkin come up short where Sidney Crosby excels. As a hockey fan I wonder if this upset is good or bad for the NHL. I am always in full support of what brings more fans and exposure to the games. Yes today and maybe even tomorrow everyone will talking about the Capitals choking. After that though do all those people stop watching the playoffs because the leagues biggest ratings draw, Alex Ovechkin, is no where to be seen. Last year's series between the Pens and Caps drew enormous ratings. This year they were slated to meet in the conference finals and potentially better ratings. Ask yourself this how many of your average hockey fans will tune in to watch one Flyers vs. Bruins game? I might watch the 3rd period but thats it. If it were the Flyers and Caps I would watch every game beginning to end. As a hockey fan I am not sure I am happy about the Capitals choking.

I said before the game if the Capitals lose, Ovechkin will never win a Stanley Cup. At least not with Washington. He may win it like Brett Hull or Ray Bourque, the cheap way. He will get one by jumping on the back of a true superstar. It might be Jonathon Toews in Chicago or Tavares or Stamkos or someone we don't know yet. I am certain now that he will never win a cup as the leader of a team. The exact opposite is true of Sidney Crosby. Sid at 22 years old has a stanley cup, gold medal, Maurice Richard award, and MVP. Alex has 2 of the 4, the 2 that don't matter. Sid plays great throughout the regular season then plays even better in the playoffs. Ovechkin plays great in the regular then cannot find the nexxt gear in the playoffs. I'll give Ovechkin credit he is a Corvette, but Sid is a Ferrari. Sid seems to be on his way to a second Stanley Cup and another MVP. If the Capitals exit does the Penguins any good it makes it blatantly obvious that Sidney Crosby is the best hockey player in the world. I would go as far as saying Ovechkin is not the second or even the third best. He might squeak into the top 5. Pavel Datsyuk is the second best player, just look at his accomplishments over the last 4 seasons especially the last 2. I do not even believe Alex is the best player on his own team, that is Nicklas Backstrom. He makes Ovechkin a better player and covers Ovechkin's short comings.

Ovechkin is a selfish player. He leads the league in shots every year because he cares about his stat line more than winning. Watch Ovechkin play a game and you won't see a hockey player you'll see a race horse. I use that analogy because he goes as fast as he can in one direction. He does not play defense or care if the man he should be covering scores. In Ovechkin's mind if his man scores he will score 2 to make up for it. His greatest enemy though his himself, he is a jerk. There has never been a superstar before that was a dirty player. At times he plays with an intent to injure other players. For example the knee on knee hit with Sergei Gonchar or the hit on Brian Campbell. I was most disgusted with him snowing the 5 year old Canadien fan, karma is a bitch aint it Ovie.

So what makes Ovechkin great. The answer is... nothing. There is nothing that Alex Ovechkin does thats sets him apart from the rest of the players in the game. Yeah he has a rocket of a shot, Chara shoots harder. He scores a ton of goals, Kovalchuk scores just as much. He is a great skater, Stamkos skates better. He hits really hard, so does Brooks Orpik. So Everything Ovechkin does well someone else in the league does it better. The thing Ovechkin doesn't do is the thing that the truly great players do/did. They make average players good and good players great. Mario made Rob Brown a 40 goal scorer. Gretzky made Kurri a superstar. Orr made Esposito a Hall of Famer. Ovechkin doesn't make anyone on his team better. He is made better by Nick Backstrom. Alexander Ovechkin is a great player but not an outstanding player, he is overrated.