Sunday, December 30, 2007

Ovechkin puts it into overdrive


“Everybody had lots of points and it's good for fans but not for the goalies”

A sold out crowd at Scotiabank Place probably would agree with Alexander Ovechkin, who had a pretty impressive Saturday night as he scored four goals and helped on another, on the way to an 8-6 Washington Capital victory.

The Caps who seem to bring out their best games when they play the Sens took a commanding 3-1 lead in the second over the Sens, as Ovechkin showed why he’s considered one of the most exciting players in hockey these days.

The Senators while launching a comeback of sorts seemed at times to be ready to sit down in the crowd and watch Ovechkin as well, as he held a clinic of puck control and pinpoint shooting. Their efforts on the night did not impress head coach John Paddock very much, who described his teams performance as ridiculous.

By the time the game had come to an end the score was a tad more respectable at 8-6, with seven goals scored in the final twenty minutes, but that did not particularly reflect the flow of the play. The Capitals were by far the more impressive team on the night, jumping out to a quick two goal lead and then not panicking when the Sens got close.

Ovechkin’s five point night will be something that the Ottawa fans will be buzzing about for a while; it may even have overtaken the Ray Emery sideshow of the last few days.

In fact, Emery is either being eased back into the swing of things or is really in the dog house, as Paddock left Martin Gerber in the nets to face all 29 Capital shots, surrendering 7 of the eight goals, the final one an empty netter for the proficient Mr. Ovechkin.

By the time the third period had reached the midway point, Gerber probably was wondering what he had to do to get out off the firing lines. While Emery was probably trying to be as invisible as possible at the end of the Sens bench.

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