Ovechkin’s selflessness on display in victory
In passing up chance for hat trick, star catches coach’s eye
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA — Alex Ovechkin saw the wide-open net in front of him — so did the fans at Rogers Arena and everyone watching. With less than two minutes to go in the third period of the Capitals’ Monday night matchup against the Vancouver Canucks and Washington leading, 4-2, Ovechkin had a clear shot at an empty-net that would have marked his third goal of the game.
Instead, he passed the puck to his left and onto the waiting stick of T.J. Oshie, who fired the puck into the net and sealed the 5-2 win. Oshie skated over to Ovechkin and the two shared a hug and a laugh.
Oshie asked Ovechkin one simple question, according to the Capitals’ captain: “Why did you pass me the puck?” Ovechkin offered his response to reporters. “Save for next time,” he said. The assist, Ovechkin’s second of the game, characterized who Capitals coach Todd Reirden called “different player than maybe you saw three or four years ago.” Ovechkin, now a Stanley Cup champion, no longer focuses on individual goals. He’s there for the team, the proof of which was evident in his two-goal, two-assist night.
“I mean right there it was a perfect chance,” Reirden said. “He could have easily tried to score himself and it wasn’t even a thought. He passed right to Osh and Osh couldn’t go back to him and that is the way it worked out and it doesn’t bother him one bit. He is doing the right thing and he feels if you do the right thing for long enough you are going to get rewarded and we were benefactors of that last season.”
Capitals center Nicklas Backstom even said he was surprised when Ovechkin passed up on the hat trick.
“I think he is so mature now so he knows his hat trick is coming in the next couple games I think,” Backstrom said. ”No biggie for him.”
Ovechkin now has eight goals so far this season, four on a lethal power play that ranked first in the NHL entering Monday night. Ovechkin’s first goal of the game came in the final minute of the second period on a puck that deflected off his skate.
“You get lucky, someone hit the puck, it hit my leg and it went in,” Ovechkin said.
“His leadership, we all were able to see it last year when we were able to obviously win the ultimate prize in our sport, has a lot of it has to do with [scoring big goals] by all means,” Reirden said of Ovechkin. “But a lot of it had to do with his leadership in our room and shot-blocking and commitment to the overall game.”