Get Off The Ice Ovie

It was simply a hockey lovers dream on Saturday as it was one hockey game after another starting at 11 AM and going until 10 PM. When you add the fact that the wife is gone, it meant a lot of hockey-watching by yours truly......of course when you are dealing with an energetic 5 year old it makes watching every second tough as one must make a trip to the park or play some catch or make supper but hey its better than spending a Saturday afternoon at Walmart!!!

There is no doubt Alexandre Ovechkin is the best player in the NHL. He will be named the league MVP once the Stanley Cup playoffs are over and he will go into next year as the face of the league. However, Ovechkin has one major flaw to his game and that flaw was exposed in Game 2 of Washington's first round series with the Rangers. Ovechkin must realize he can't do everything by himself and that he can't stay on the ice for long periods of time.
The Rangers beat the Capitals 1-0 in Game 2 to take a 2-0 lead in the series with the next two games going at Madison Square Garden. If you watch the highlights of the game, you will see Ovechkin is guilty of lollygagging it...he is just gliding as his man Ryan Callahan puts the puck in the net. The reason why Ovechkin isn't giving it 100 percent......he had been on the ice for over a minute which is far too long. Any coach will tell you that. Ovechkin has all the talent in the world but he must realize his teammates can also do the job and he doesn't have to do it all by his lonesome. Mike Milbury was the only guy to point this out yesterday. It was as if everyone else didn;t want to go there. Praise Ovechkin all you want because he deserves it but when he screws up, you have to mention it. I even thought Don Cherry would let him have it but Ovechkin escaped Grapes' wrath. Milbury was crappy in the front office but he isn't afraid to speak his mind as an analyst and I think he is one of the top ones out there. When you aren't afraid to say it the way you see it, your approval rating goes up with me.
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Ovechkin is the best player in the league followed by guys like Crosby, Malkin, Thornton and Getzlaf but one has to think that very soon Chicago's Jonathan Toews will crack that top 10. The Hawks captain knows how to turn it up in the big games and he did that in Game 2 against the Flames as he scores twice in a 3-2 win over Calgary as the Hawks take a 2-0 series lead back to the Saddledome. Calgary just doesn't seem to have it and several guys just don't look like they are 100 percent.
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If I was a Boston Bruins fan, I would have Mike Komisarek on my most hated list. I'm not a big Bruins fan or a big Habs fan, but I do know that Komisarek is taking on the role of gutless prick in this series against Boston. Komisarek loves using his gloves to do some eye gouging. First it was Matt Hunwick and last nite it was Milan Lucic. Someone from Boston needs to take their pound of flesh from Komisarek. It might not be Lucic for Game 3....he cross checked Maxim Lapierre in the face and got a 5 minute major for it. That was changed to a match penalty after the game meaning a likely suspension. Of course as some mentioned on the TV broadcasts, Lucic was responding to a charging Lapierre. By the way, Habs fans should be ashamed of defenceman Josh Gorges. He got tuned by Patrice Bergeron for gods sake. Bergeron is as tough as a feather pillow. This series is over in 4.
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No one is ragging on Chris Osgood now. The Detroit goalie who took a lot of criticism going into the playoffs has been stellar in Games 1 and 2 against Columbus. Osgood, who I think doesn't get the credit he deserves and has to be considered as one of the game's greats when you consider his resume, gets the shutout as the Wings beat Columbus 4-0 to take a 2-0 series lead.
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Kelowna takes Game 1 of the WHL West final. The Rockets beating Vancouver 4-2 in the opener. After going 7 tough games with Spokane, the Giants may not have enough gas to get through the Rockets. It won't matter though as I still say the Calgary Hitmen wins the league title in a breeze.
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Game 2 of the Anavet Cup goes to Humboldt. The SJHL champion Broncos beat Portage 3-2 Saturday night to even the series at one. The series heads back to Humboldt for the next three starting Tuesday night.
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The NBA playoffs are underway. I'm not a big basketball afficionado although I will watch from time to time. If you are a basketball fan, I'm sure you spent your Saturday watching one playoff game after another instead of the hockey. If that's the case, good on you. The scores are at the bottom of the page.
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The new Yankee Stadium has not had a good first week for its new occupants. The Cleveland Indians scored 14 runs in the 3rd inning....yes you are reading that right, 14 runs as they beat the Yankees 22-4. As one might expect, the 14 runs is a record for most runs allowed in an inning by the Yankees. This comes just a couple of days after they gave up 9 runs in one inning in losing bad to the Indians. All that money they are spending and this is what they get early on....BA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!!! It looks good on them!!!
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Believe it or not, those behind the what has been a disastrous "Lets Bring the Bills To Toronto" venture aren't going down without a fight. Word is now Rogers Communications vice-chairman Phil Lind wants to bring more Buffalo Bills games to Toronto and that if necessary some games be played at the same time as the CFL season is on. Freebies have been given away, tickets were so expensive that prices had to be slashed, Buffalo fans don't like this idea. It hasn't got the momentum in Toronto that Rogers thought it would. Why would you want to throw gas on this out of control fire??? If there were enough CFL fans in Toronto, it would be nice to see them sell out Skydome for a game and then have the NFL come in and play to a less than capacity crowd. Sadly that won't happen---but wouldn't it be great if it did???
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I can't find video of it but its hard to believe that Wayne Gretzky played his last game 10 years ago. It was April 18, 1999 when Wayne left the on-ice wars following a game against Pittsburgh. What's my favourite Gretzky moment. Its cruising down the wing and unleashing a slap shot over Mike Vernon's shoulder in overtime while shorthanded to give Edmonton a 2-0 series lead in what was one of many playoff victories over the Flames. That was in the 87-88 season...in fact it was April 21,1988 so just about 21 years ago. That goal may be my favourite Oiler goal of all time. All you heard was the ping and then deafening silence at the Saddledome as Glen Sather turns around and gives the you know what to Flames fans. I wish there was a Youtube of that glorious moment. What's your favourite Gretzky moment????
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UFC invaded the Bell Centre in Montreal for the 2nd time. I didn't watch it but if you want to know what happened, here ya go.......

http://www.sherdog.com/news/news/ufc-97-redemption-live-play-by-play-17076