It was like an early version of Christmas morning. Capitals veteran winger Mike Knuble was handed a Tiffany crystal ball in commemoration of his 1,000th NHL game. There also came the silver hockey stick, big enough for Paul Bunyan to wield on the ice. And there was even the piece of paper that represented the new jet ski his teammates bought for him.
All in all, a pretty good haul for the 39-year-old, who didn’t score, wasn’t used on the power play, managed just one hit and played 10 minutes, 7 seconds Tuesday night against the Nashville Predators. Most nights that would leave Knuble frustrated – even with the soothing balm of a win. Hard to feel that way after this one, though.
His three kids, Cam, Anna and Cole, and wife, Megan, watched the pre-game warm-up skate from ice level near the tunnel where the Zamboni enters onto the ice and took part in the presentation of gifts. His mother and brother and in-laws were somewhere in the stands at Verizon Center along with his high-school hockey coach and some long-time buddies. His teammates had just skated during warm-ups all wearing Knuble’s familiar No. 22 in his honor. And during a video tribute on the big HD scoreboard the crowd roared for a player who is only in his third season in Washington and yet has become a fan favorite because of his rugged style of play and insightful manner off the ice. Kind of an overwhelming moment.
“For me it was just a question of gathering my thoughts,” Knuble said. “But a lot of guys haven’t seen the deal before. They’ve never seen the ceremony. You’re always flattered, even in the warm-up with the jerseys and stuff like that. It’s a very flattering moment. But I’m glad to see it carried over to the game.”
Indeed, Washington fed off the energy provided by the presentation to Knuble and scored twice in the first period en route to a 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators. But while Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Semin stole the show with a goal each, make no mistake: This was Knuble’s night. In many ways, given the youth that still surrounds him, it is his team. Or at least some days it feels that way.
“I’m sure if you ask him he’d say ‘Jeez, sometimes it feels like I’m babysitting’. There’s so many young guys on this team and he has to shoulder the whole load of being the main veteran guy,” teammate Brooks Laich said last week. “But Mike’s such a good teammate in that aspect. He’ll go out of his way to help guys. If he’s not playing and other guys are getting minutes he think he deserves he still keeps his mouth shut he still works hard in practice, he works hard off the ice. There’s a reason the guy is going to play 1,000 games. It’s because he’s a true professional.”
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