Monday, October 31, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Canucks 7, Caps 4, Ovechkin scores 2 goals
At least Ovi scored two...
10/29/11 Ovi, Brouwer, Knuble, Johansson, Hendricks talk after the game
J.P.:
Alex Ovechkin had jump from the outset, going hard to the net and, unsurprisingly, being rewarded for it with the Caps' first goal, a penalty drawn early in the second, and then a power-play goal moments thereafter (from exactly where one might have expected the shot to have come). It's almost as if AO knew he was being televised across Canada... and perhaps that extra juice was a factor in his bad third period interference penalty on Alex Edler which directly led to the game-winning goal.
Ovi's stats:
2 goals, 1 penalty (2 min) total ice time 18:48, 21 shifts, average shift 00:53, PP 03:55, even 14:53, 5 shots on goal, 1 missed, 1 hit, 1 giveaway, 1 faceoff lost
Ovi scores his 4th goal of the season at 8:55 in the first period (Brouwer, Backstrom)
Ovi scores his 5th goal (also the 100th power play goal of his career) (1:25 in the second, Backstrom, Carlson)
MarJo ties the game 4-4:
Joe Beninati:
Marcus Johnasson continues to shine for Washington. There are times when he appears to be the best forward on the ice. His skating speed invariably creates odd-man rushes and he wheeled in on Luongo to tie the score before the end of the middle frame.
H/t to Emily.
Saturday, October 29, 2011
Caps players on Twitter
On this week's Caps Breakaway:
Learn who on the team the Caps players think is the least likely to ever sign up to be on Twitter
Friday, October 28, 2011
Lemme guess, hot goalie?
Not just that, a bazaar string of Caps penalties in the second period, some borderline, never seen anything like that. Before that game Caps were one of the least penalized teams in the NHL. I guess everything comes to an end. The winning streak is over, and good thing about it is that you don't have to think about extending it.
Ovechkin, Vokoun, Ward, Alzner and Johansson talk to media after the game.
Ovi: "Five on five we didn't give them any chances"
Ovi's stats:
Total ice time 18:11, 21 shifts, average 00:51, PP 05:36, short handed 00:06, even 12:29, 6 shots on goal, 1 attempt blocked, 5 missed, 1 giveaway
Though Ovi didn't do anything spectacular, except his run at the end of the third when went from his blue line, entered the Oilers zone, shot and hit the cross bar, he played well. Obviously since he doesn't kill penalties Boudreau couldn't give him more ice time. That was the type of the game where you need to play your best player, not just rolling 4 lines, but because of the penalties, even that was impossible.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Ovechkin talks after morning skate in Edmonton
Long one, all Canadian broadcasters are present, plus NHL network.
Jim Matheson, Montreal Gazette
EDMONTON — There is a rock band feel to the Washington Capitals and Alex Ovechkin when they hit the road.
Photo by @thatwilcoxguy
“We don’t get to Western Canada that often, only every two years, and they don’t get a chance to see Alex much. The buzz in, say, Vancouver last year . . . I know I’m old, but it was like the Beatles had just hit North America,” said Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau.
Oilers forward Taylor Hall said Wednesday that Ovechkin probably doesn’t know who he is. Ovechkin quickly shot that down.
“Hall? I met him at the All-Star Game last year. He probably forgets that. He is a superstar. He doesn’t want to hang around small guys like me,” Ovechkin said. “You can compare Edmonton to us in our first years. Difference is lots of cameras around them. In our first years, maybe we had one camera.”
“Everybody knows who we are. Even (Tuesday) night, when we went to a restaurant, a guy said he had been working there eight years and couldn’t wait to see us,” said Ovechkin. “That was nice . . . but he didn’t give us free meal.”
Who will bail me out? That's interesting. Ovi is the last to answer.
Ovi (today): "Their first line is pretty sick"
(Reaction): "Eh?"
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Ovechkin talks before heading to Edmonton 10-25-11
Ovi says that he sure wants more ice time, and it's not just him, Backie and Semin and others want more ice time. But the bottom line is the team is winning and rolling all 4 lines is good for the team.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Allwax Ovechkin and Alex Ovechkin
photo @wyshynski wax Ovechkin and Ovechkin
Capitals Overtime
Capitals Overtime
@christinesimpsn
More pictures...
Uploaded by gwyshynski on Oct 24, 2011
What Ovechkin said to his Dad in Russian:
Ovechkin: Пап, давай иди сюда... Ну че [как ты] думаешь? [Dad, come over here... What do you think?]
Father: Да, здорово похож, здорово... [Yeah, he looks very much like you, very much...]
Even more pictures...
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Michael Phelps in Moscow
It starts at 1:30, Phelps is talking about Ovechkin and going to a Capitals game at Verizon center:
I am actually gonna head down to the game this year...
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Red Wings 1, Capitals 7
If playoffs would start now, I like Caps chances, but it's still a long way to go...
Ovi's stats:
2 assists, +1, total ice time 16:14, 18 shifts, average shift 00:54, PP 03:14, even 13:00, 1 shot on goal, 2 attempts blocked, 1 missed, 1 giveaway
Not very memorable night for Captain, maybe some minor nagging injury since he missed optional morning skate, but the bottom line is: his crew destroyed Red Wings, and that's all that matters.
Brooks Laich and Mike Knuble had more ice time than Ovi, but it happened because both spent a lot of time on penalty killing and also played on power play.
Brooks Laich had 17:16 with 25 shifts of 47 sec average, 3:05 on penalty killing and 1:57 on PP.
Mike Knuble had 16:31, 21 shifts, average 47 sec, 3:12 on penalty killing and 1:48 on PP.
Capitals Overtime:
Feel like this photo sums up the night at Verizon Center. Big win for the Caps.
Ovechkin talks after the game (in Russian):
Q.: Are you happy with your performance in this game?
Ovechkin:
Well, there were moments when I could make better decisions, but the bottom line is we won, got 2 points, so everything is fine
We go out and enjoy each other's play, we are in a good mood in the locker room. Of course, it is nice when you continue to win...
Link to the latest post
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Friday, October 21, 2011
Ovechkin gives interview to Russian NHL.COM
If you haven't heard it yet, there's now Russian version of NHL.com now. Here Ovi gives an interview to them in Russian:
[Your team] has a good winning streak.
Are you trying to say that we will win all 82 games? Of course, we will lose some... Right now the main thing for us is to get as many points as possible, to feel more comfortable close to playoffs.
You have played 23 games against Flyers in your career and scored 22 goals. How do you do this?
It's a good atmosphere in Philadelphia. And I am more motivated to play against good teams.
On Monday Madame Tussauds wax museum in Washington will unveil your wax figure. Does it have any importance for you?
Of course! For the first time in my life my wax figure will be unveiled. A great honor for me and for all Russian people. It happened in America, they have enough celebrities without Ovechkin!
Which Ovechkin is more handsome?
Definitely the one that is in wax!
Bragilevskaya: http://www.sovsport.ru/gazeta/article-item/488126
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New Ovechkin's unveiling his wax figure date
It will happen on October 24, 2011 at Madame Tussauds Museum in Washington DC:
The Washington Capitals superstar will one day undoubtedly walk the halls of the NHL Hall of Fame, but before that time, he will stand among the extraordinary and elite athletes who are forever immortalized in wax at Madame Tussauds Washington DC.
Be the first to see our Alex Ovechkin figure on October 24th!
Related post...
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Thursday, October 20, 2011
Ovechkin: I can also score besides my contract with Gillette
Q.: What do you know about Ovechkin?
Bryz: He's Russian... He wears #8... He signed a contract with Gillette...
Ovi: Everybody knows I have Gillette's contract, [ok, joke starts here - tj :-)] but not everyone knows that I am Russian, wear #8 and most of all, I can score... ahahaha, just kidding...
Caps 2, Flyers 1 after the first period.
Ovi's stats after first:
1 goal, +1, 2 minutes penalty, total ice 06:08, 7 shifts, average shift 00:52, PP 03:47, even 02:21, 1 shot on goal, 1 attempt blocked, 1 missed
Final score Caps 5, Flyers 2
Ovi's stats:
2 goals, +1, 2 minutes penalty, total ice 17:59, 19 shifts, average shift 00:56, PP 07:02, even 10:57, 3 shots on goal, 3 attempts blocked, 1 missed, 1 takeaway
Raise your hand: How many people Ovi made happy tonight?
Bryzgalov and Ovi are actually good friends, which personally I am proud of as Ovi's blogger because I consider Bryz one of the most intelligent and smart hockey player ever.
I saw Ovi apologizing to Bryz after he almost ran him over, "I didn't want to..."
Ovi, Vokoun and others talk after the game.
Ovi:
It's always nice to score goals. I have a couple chances in the last couple of games but I didn't score and finally it goes in. I'm kind of happy.
Vokoun:
He’s got so much pressure from everybody to score 60 goals and get 100 points,” Vokoun said. “To me, the best players in the game are Zetterberg and Datsyuk, and those guys. They’re not 100-point guys. They’re 80-point guys, but they play a solid game both ways. [Ovechkin is] trying to learn to play both ways and be more useful to his team than maybe he was in the past, when he had 'I don’t know how many goals' and how many points.Transcript via Jesse Spector, Sporting News.
Trust me, it’s not easy for a guy like that to do everything—to play good defense and to produce offensively. Everybody expects so much. I’m just glad we’re winning, and he certainly showed, in past games, where he didn’t get maybe a goal—he was still happy for the team, and happy for other guys to score. For me, that’s great to see. The growing-up process takes some time. I played against him many times, and he’s a great player, and he’s going to be a great player no matter what, for many years to come. Maybe he didn’t score for a few games, but I guarantee you he will score a lot of goals this year.
Link to the latest post
Michael Phelps is coming to town
I wonder who will be the first to attend Caps game, Prez Obama or Mr. Phelps?
Pavel Lysenkov talks with Michael Phelps:
You were born in Baltimore. Alexander Ovechkin is next door, in Washington, and is considered one of the most popular athletes. Do you know him?Source: http://sport.rambler.ru/news/swimming/578820647.html
We've never met. But I really want to see Ovechkin this year. A few weeks ago my friend almost persuaded me to hit the road to Washington for the Capitals game. I regret that I did not go because Ovechkin is unreal. My friend later said, "Too bad, you've missed a lot..."
Do you know what is common between you and Ovechkin? The energy with which you both compete. It is said that Alexander takes three cans of energy drinks before each game.
Now I really want to meet this guy! But if I'd drink so many cans, I'd just crash in a couple of hours and fall asleep. Do you know how they are working? They give you a supercharge for a short time, and then - a crash. No, I would just crash after three cans.
So you are not going to adopt this Ovechkin's habit?
I will not compete with him on energy drinks usage. He will win for sure!
Kind of weird, what Michael Phelps said was translated into Russian and now back into English. I wonder how much has been lost in two translations. :-)
Link to the latest post
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Ovechkin's slump continues
Ovi's stats:
1 assist, total ice time 17:35, 22 shifts, average shift 00:47, PP 00:53, even 16:42, 2 shots on goal, 1 attempt blocked, 1 missed, 4 hits, 1 takeaway
The average shift of 47 seconds? that's unheard of Alex Ovechkin. But if you analyze other forwards stats, only Semin (53) and Perreault (49) had more with less total ice time of 16:03 and 9:53 respectively. If Ovi had less total ice time than other forwards, then we have a problem.
What's more important, the team continues to win, beating Cats 3:0 in the last game. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and Bruce is rolling all four lines. Sooner or later the slump will end and personal stats are less important nowadays.
Ovi missed today's morning skate because of the few "bumps and bruises", according to Bruce Boudreau, "with two more games this week, we just told him to take off and get some stretching done."
Link to the latest post
Monday, October 17, 2011
Varlamov talks to SE reporter after a game in Montreal
On request of our reader AB, here's another translation of Varlamov's interview given in Montreal to SE reporter Damir Khayretdinov:
How do you feel in the new role of unconditional number one goalkeeper, the role that you were not able to get in Washington? And how's your new team?
I feel great with Avalanche! I have perfectly adjusted to mountain climate, had time to settle. Plus, I was greatly welcomed by the team.
After a devastating defeat from Los Angeles the head coach Joe Sacco said that he didn't have any problems with your play, but blamed defensemen. In today's game Colorado's defense was not playing well too. Can we say that Washington's defense was more reliable?
I wouldn't compare Caps and Avs, both teams have different systems. Each coach professes their game concept. I can't blame our defensemen. They help me, and a successful start of Colorado is the merit of the whole team, including defense.
Okay, but which of the two teams is playing more defensive hockey?
Colorado. We play "defense first" approach, follow Coaches' plan. Washington plays more open hockey.
After a series of exhibition games and games in the regular season, can you tell the difference between Eastern and Western Conferences?
I believe that we haven't play enough games to draw any conclusions. I would note Los Angeles of the Western Conference teams. LA Kings impressed me! This is one of the strongest teams in the league this season.
After you were traded to Colorado your idol Roy called you. Did he contribute to your trade, because Washington did not want to let you go?
No, it's all rumors. Patrick called me two weeks after I was traded. I did not expect it, was amazed! He congratulated me and wished me luck.
By the way, who is on your goalie mask? As before, George Washington, or you already have your childhood's idol?
Actually I think about it, to put Roy on my mask. Now, on the advice of a Swedish consultant, I have little monsters as talismans.
Judging by your interviews, you were enthusiastic about new Russian team's Coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, stressing that a coach like him is needed to the national team.
Yes, I believe that he is a great specialist with great experience. But I didn't have a chance to meet him.
Recently the former Ak Bars defenseman, your team Russia teammate Alexei Emelin, who is now in Montreal, told me that Zinetula Khaidarovich would bring to the team a very strict game plan and discipline. And what style will he bring? The same strict style as in Denver?
I think everybody knows Ak Bars and their style of play. First of all it is a focus on the game in defense. The national team will play more strictly in defense, and make no mistake, we have good defensemen who can do it.
Do you hope that you will become the number one goalkeeper of team Russia?
Of course. But this requires a lot of work, like playing consistently on the high level and constantly progressing in your game.
Two leaders of your former club played important role in your adaptation to the NHL, Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin. Do you stay in touch with them?
Of course. I am really very grateful to them. When I just arrived and had hard time to adjust, they were very helpful to me.
Why Ovechkin had a not very successful last season, and even in this season he still has trouble to play at his best?
There are different reasons. You see, it is very difficult to play on the same high level. Any great player had to deal with slumps. But he will overcome it. I'm sure it all will work out.
One of the causes of instability is the injuries. And you had them in Washington in recent years, especially the groin injuries. And how do you feel now?
I'm all right, all the injuries were healed. I have absolutely nothing to worry about in terms of health, I'm in great shape.
During our conversation almost three years ago, when you had a brilliant debut here in Montreal, you said that you had fulfilled two dreams, you're in the NHL and played your first game in this league. Then later you promised specifically for readers of "SE" to name your third dream. Maybe it's time to reveal the secret?
No special secret here. I would like to play as many games as possible in the NHL, and to play successfully for my team. That is, perhaps, my main goal.
When our interview was over, Semyon had a special request:
Please allow me via "Sport-Express" to pass a few words to relatives and friends of hockey players who died in a plane crash near Yaroslavl. Sunday marks 40 days after the disaster (after saying this, Semyon got very emotional and had trouble to choose the words). I would like to again express my condolences... This is not enough. I want to say that I am with you, I share your grief and sorrow. I always find myself mentally with the guys who perished. Yaroslavl, I repeat, despite the distance, in these sad days, I am close with all of you...
Source: http://hockey.sport-express.ru/reviews/17140/
40 days is a date that has a significance in Russia, here's why:
Wikipedia (Russian):
According to Orthodox patristic tradition, the 40th day after the death of newly-soul (ie, the recently deceased) for the third time is available before the angels of God, who gives it the place of Judgement and the eternal life after the final determination of fate. One of the 3 dates in the Orthodox tradition, marked for a special commemoration of the newly-reposed: the third day, ninth day, fortieth day. Two dates - the third day and the fortieth day - coincide with milestones in the earthly life of Jesus Christ: on the third day of his physical death, He rose again, on the fortieth day after his resurrection he ascended to God.
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Sunday, October 16, 2011
Mike Tyson and Alex Ovechkin
Mike Tyson and Alex Ovechkin were at Virginia card show this Sunday and made a picture together...
via @ovi8
Weird, Ovi is taller than Tyson?
LOL update:
Another one:
Bonus pic of Ovi's BatMobile from our field reporter Emily:
Instagram by DesignoAbe
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