Sports
Caps face 'challenge' of being without Ovechkin
By: John R. Adams
Special to The Examiner
October 29, 2008
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| Capitals forward Brooks Laich, above, replaced Alex Ovechkin on the top line against the Predators Tuesday night. Ovechkin is taking a leave from the team to be with his ailing grandfather. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images) |
When hockey fans tune into a Capitals game, they expect to see MVP and scoring champ Alex Ovechkin play all 60 minutes, issue a few devastating hits, score several highlight-reel goals and earn congratulations from a group of interchangeable no-names clad in Caps jerseys.
Or at least that’s what the NHL’s marketing department touts.
Not that anyone could blame them. Ovechkin oozes everything the NHL and hockey fans want from a star and represents, along with Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby, one half of the media-driven match race for the title of World’s Greatest Player.
However, with Ovechkin on the other side of the world visiting his ailing grandfather in Russia, the squad wasn’t exactly suffering from an identity crisis.
“We can look at it two ways,” said forward Brooks Laich, who replaced Ovechkin on the top line. “Like we’re missing the star of our team, or we can look at it as a challenge.”
The Caps rolled four lines against the Nashville Predators, a scrappy team known for producing results with attention to detail, and largely outworked and out-hustled the visitors en route to a 4-3 shootout victory.
“It shows we’re not just a one man team,” said Laich. “We were criticized for that a couple of years ago but I don’t think you can say that anymore. We have a bunch of fantastic players that don’t get enough recognition.”
Removing Ovechkin forced coach Bruce Boudreau to make some impromptu modifications to his lineup of forwards. Dave Steckel, who was benched for poor play during the club’s recent road swing, found himself playing opposite Alexander Semin, who came into the game tied with Pittsburgh’s Evgeni Malkin for the league lead in points.
Steckel made the most of the occasion, potting his second shorthanded goal of the campaign and provided consistent play in his own end.
While Washington was without Ovechkin’s infectious enthusiasm, the Capitals held off a Nashville team that got better as the game wore on, and secured two points when it would have been easier to fold as the visitors pressed in the latter stages of the contest.
“(The Capitals) work really well as a team,” said Nashville goalie Dan Ellis. “They have other guys who can step into those roles.”
Washington will face a stiffer challenge this Saturday, when they travel to upstate New York to take on the Buffalo Sabres — one of the NHL’s hottest teams to start the year — and will likely be without Ovechkin then, too.
While the idea of not having Ovechkin around for a lengthy amount of time would turn more than a few stomachs in the District, the Caps appear to be just fine in the short term.
“It was a nice win without him,” said Boudreau. “We’d like to make it two.”
