Our Morning Roundup: Caps on a Hot Streak Edition
In what the Post this morning says "will likely go down as one of the best playoff games in Capitals franchise history," D.C.'s scrappy hockey team went up 2 games to none in their playoff series against Pittsburgh. That means they've won their last five playoff games, their longest post-season streak to date. It took the Verizon Center staff three minutes to clear the ice of another sort of caps—the hats kept coming after Alex Ovechkin's third goal of the night, his first hat trick in in the playoffs. The Pens' Crosby got one of those, too (and a lone hat thrown onto the ice), but in this chapter of the "showdown for the ages," Sidney went home a loser. Final score: 4-3. Money quote from Ovechkin: "If I was a Capitals fan, I'd be really happy right now."
Crosby, of course, not a Caps fan. What a player. But what a whiner. Last night it was about the hats: "I was just asking if he could make an announcement to ask them to stop," Crosby said of the fans. "I mean, the first wave came, and then I think they were all pretty much picked up, and then more started coming." Earlier this season, he piled on the chastisement for Ovechkin's 50-goal celebration/failed joke. And even this pro-Pens blog thinks Crosby's bellyaching about a hit he took from Ovechkin in January is just a bit much. But trust a CBCer for a measured response: Let's not debate who's a better player. Let's like them both! Whatever, Elliotte Friedman with your extra letters in your name.
The must-read, as McKenna pointed out in this space yesterday, is Mike Wise's A1 Sunday profile on Caps enforcer Donald Brashear. Does his sad life excuse breaking a guy's orbital bone? No. But is it sad? Oof.
Lest one think Ovechkin and Brashear are the only Caps worth writing about, Canada's National Post has a rundown on the rationale to give goaltender Simeon Varlamov his shot after Jose Theodore's implosion. Seems like a no-brainer now, but Bruce Boudreau says he "lost hair" over the decision. Who knew hockey coaches could be so funny? But can you sportswriter-types please stop writing about how to pronounce Varlamov's name? Yeah, we get it. Sim-YON Var-LAHM-ov.
Game 3's in Pittsburgh tomorrow. The Philadelphia Inquirer says, "historians of the Pittsburgh-Washington rivalry will say the Penguins have the Capitals right where they want them."
5:22 pm
"Earlier this season, he piled on the chastisement for Ovechkin’s 50-goal celebration/failed joke."
Hey, I'm not a big fan of Crosby either, but I think you got this one wrong. If you read the article you linked to, it sounds like he actually defended Ovechkin's goal celebration:
"I'm sure he's trying to prove a point," Crosby said of Ovechkin. "He's been probably criticized a bit about it." Crosby reasoned that Ovechkin wanted to show that hitting the 50-goal mark for a third time in four seasons is "something that is important to him." Added Crosby: "He's showing that passion, and that's fine."