OVIE’S CANADIAN CURSE
Crosby looks to triumph again
Alex Ovechkin spoke so softly, even the gaggle of microphones shoved in his face were having a hard time picking up his words.
Ovechkin and his teammates had just defeated Finland 3-0 Thursday afternoon, thereby rekindling the historic Canada-Russia rivalry by setting up a matchup against Sidney Crosby and company on Saturday night in front of a national television audience in the World Cup of Hockey semifinal.
Twenty minutes after the final horn, here he was, sitting at a small podium in the tournament press centre, being asked if beating Canada would be the big moment of his career.
“Well, I have too (many) big moments,” he replied, his voice barely above a whisper. “I have too many big moments in my career.” But not against Canada. And not against Sidney Crosby. Maybe Ovechkin wants to remain relatively quiet as the clock ticks down toward the opening faceoff, but a win over Canada Saturday certainly would speak volumes.
In fact, as much as he might deny now, it says here it arguably could be the signature moment of his illustrious career.
As much personal success as Ovechkin has enjoyed, the same can’t be said regarding his fate the majority of the time he’s gone up against Crosby. Or Canada. Or both.
For the past decade, the two faces of the sport have been Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin. In terms of hardware won, however, it’s no contest.
Crosby has two Olympic gold medals and a pair of Stanley Cup rings to his name. Ovechkin has never reached a Stanley Cup or Olympic final, let alone known the unbridled joy of coming out ahead in one.
At the 2010 Games in Vancouver, Crosby and Team Canada not only eliminated Ovechkin’s Russians, they humiliated them by a 7-3 score. Four years later, with Ovechkin actually having been the torchbearer for the Games in his native country, his Russians were eliminated from the Sochi Olympics without even having the opportunity to play for a medal.
This past NHL season, Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals won the Presidents’ Trophy, which goes to the team with the most points in the regular season. It didn’t matter. The Caps were punted out of the Cup dance in the second round by — you guessed it — Crosby and the Penguins.
Indeed, they were just red-whiteand-blue roadkill on Sid The Kid’s trail to another Stanley Cup.
But if he can lead his team to victory Saturday, imagine the shock waves it would create.
Ovechkin and the Russians already are being viewed as the villains of this tournament. Had they lost to Finland Thursday, Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews and Team North America — the electrifying darlings of the 2016 World Cup — would have been Canada’s opponents Saturday in a matchup an entire nation was hoping to see. Alas, leave it to Ovie and his teammates to spoil the party — again.
Almost everyone expects Canada to win Saturday. Crosby and his teammates will be playing on home soil. The crowd at the ACC will be bonkers. Canada is the only team in the tournament to go 3-0 in the preliminary round, outscoring the opposition 14-3 in the process. Back on Sept. 14 in Pittsburgh, the Canadians outshot Russia 48-26 in a 3-2 exhibition game victory in Pittsburgh. Add all these facts up, and the logical conclusion is a Canada victory on Saturday.
As such, if Ovechkin can overcome the odds — and history, for that matter — it would certainly be the Statement Heard Round The Hockey World.
“It’s going to be a fun game,” downplayed Ovechkin. “It’s nice to be a part of, obviously. Two teams with a great history. Again, it’s going to be tough. It’s going to be hard because we play here in Canada. But it’s going to be fun, fun game.”
One that some will bill as Crosby versus Ovechkin, even if the Great Eight doesn’t agree that it should.
“It’s Canada vs. Russia. It isn’t two players. Of course, you guys want to do something special about it, but for us, I think it’s most important thing to get a victory and move forward.”
Of course, the Russians won’t just be going up against Crosby and his teammates. They’ll also be battling a rabid throng at the ACC and, for that, matter, an entire country.
“It’s going to be like Russia when we play Olympic Games,” he said. “Everybody’s going to be crazy. The atmosphere’s going to be unbelievable. It’s going to be a great match to play and be involved in and be in the stands and to watch on TV for this kind of rivalry.”
Upon further review, Ovechkin did have one big moment on Canadian soil. In 2008, he was part of the Russian team that won the World Championship in Quebec City, beating Canada 5-4 in the final.
Like us, most Canadians have forgotten about that.
They certainly won’t forget if he can lead Russia to a win over Canada Saturday.
And neither will Ovechkin.
It’s Canada vs. Russia. It isn’t two players. Of course, you guys want to do something special about it.