Reply To: Articles

[hockeygod]

Ovechkin won't win clash of wills against Hunter: Captain rides pine while Caps win

By MIKE ZEISBERGER, QMI Agency, May 2 2012

NEW YORK – Five things we have learned through the first two games of the Washington Capitals-New York Rangers Eastern Conference semifinal, which is deadlocked at 1-1 heading into Game 3 Wednesday night at the Verizon Center in the U.S. capital.

1. Alex Ovechkin is not going to win any clash of wills with Caps coach Dale Hunter.

Ovechkin's 13:36 of ice time in Game 2 has become THE issue of contention in this series, especially since the likes of Jay Beagle received six minutes and 10 shifts more than the Great Eight.

When asked about how little he had played, Ovechkin, who scored the winning goal in the third period of the Caps 3-2 victory, twice used the term "suck it up" when referring to the good of the team.

Six forwards, including Beagle, played more than Ovechkin, which had some critics second-guessing Hunter.

Really, people, as long as the Caps are winning, do you really think Dale Hunter cares?

Not in the least.

It's obvious that Hunter views Ovechkin as a defensive liability. So, as long as the Caps have the lead, don't expect to see him get a lot of ice time.

Should Washington fall behind, well, that's a different story. In that case, Hunter will double-shift his top goal scorer whenever possible to generate offence.

2. Most Capitals are buying what Hunter is selling.

A year ago the Caps were swept in the second round by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Twelve months later, with Hunter at the helm, they've already won once in the second round.

And as long as they keep posting W's, the players will keep drinking Hunter's Kool-Aid.

"It's hard to argue when we're winning hockey games," forward Jason Chimera said. "A lot of guys, their ice time has gone down, but we're winning hockey games. You can't argue with that."

Added veteran forward Mike Knuble: "Anybody who's following our team, you see he's coaching the situations."

3. Braden Holtby continues to prove to doubters that he is The Real Deal.

We've seen one-round wonders before — former Habs Cinderella story Steve Penney comes to mind — so anointing the Capitals rookie as the "next great thing" after his performance in upsetting the defending Stanley Cup-champion Boston Bruins in the opening round might be, well, a bit premature.

But there is no doubt he continues to impress.

After a wobbly effort in the Caps' 3-1 loss in Game 1, Holtby was outstanding in Game 2, stopping both Chris Kreider and Michael Rupp on full or partial breakaways.

More important to Hunter is the fact that Holtby has not lost back-to-back outings in his past 25 games. If he extends that streak, the Caps will have a legitimate shot against the No. 1 seed in the east.

4. Chris Kreider has brought some spark to a Rangers offence that could use one.

"Moribund" is probably the best way to describe New York's pop-gun attack through the first two games. Sure, they won Game 1, but they did it with just 14 shots on goal.

As a result, Kreider, the big, smooth-skating rookie who was celebrating an NCAA hockey championship just three weeks ago with Boston College, had been bumped up to the Rangers top line by Game 2. Whether he stays there for Game 3 remains to be seen, but he has brought an infusion of energy to a New York lineup that badly needs it.

Kreider's wheels were on display in Game 2, when he sped to a breakaway before being stopped by Holtby. On a team full of fierce forecheckers, the addition of Kreider has certainly upped the skill level of the Rangers forward ranks.

5. Marian Gaborik must be a difference maker.

The way New Yorkers have embraced Brian Boyle now that he's back in the lineup, you would think he's Mark Messier. And that's fine. But with these games all threatening to be close, it's time for the highly-skilled Gaborik to take matters into his own hands.

Gaborik arguably has as much raw talent as any forward in the league, but can be invisible at times during the tight checking of the NHL playoffs. With a cap hit of $7.5 million, he should be one of the Rangers best players each and every night.

Thus far in this series, he has been anything but that.

CAPITALS FORWARDS ICE TIME

A look at the ice time of Washington Capitals forwards in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinal against the New York Rangers on Monday, a 3-2 Caps win.

1. Jay Beagle, 19:58

2. Troy Brouwer, 18:48

3. Brooks Laich, 17:46

4. Marcus Johansson, 16:55

5. Nicklas Backstrom, 16:18

6. Matt Hendricks, 15:26

7. Alex Ovechkin, 13:36

8. Jason Chimera, 13:05

9. Alex Semin, 12:27

10. Joel Ward, 12:06

11. Mike Knuble, 9:49

12. Keith Aucoin, 9:29

—–

Quality minutes matter to Ovie's teammates: Capitals D-man Alzner knows Ovechkin will come up big regardless of ice time

The Associated Press, May 2, 2012

Alex Ovechkin's ice time keeps shrinking in the Stanley Cup playoffs, all the way down to a career-low 13½ minutes in Game 2 of the Washington Capitals' NHL Eastern Conference semifinal against the New York Rangers.

Seems to be working so far.

With the teams tied at a game apiece and shifting to Washington for Game 3 on Wednesday (CBC, CBCSports.ca, 7:30 p.m. ET), followed by Game 4 on Saturday, a major topic of conversation is how little two-time NHL MVP Ovechkin is playing.

Despite the reduced action, Washington's captain and leading scorer did manage to net the winning goal on a power play in Game 2.

"To be honest, it's not even something that we notice. We don't go down the sheet at the end of the game and say, 'How much did 'Ovie' play?' That's just not something that we do," Capitals defenceman Karl Alzner said Tuesday, a day off for Washington's players.

"You know he wants to play more, and he's frustrated by not playing 20 minutes. But he doesn't care — he wants to win that game. Playing 13 minutes, he goes out and scores the most important goal of the game. It doesn't really matter how much he plays; he's going to come up big."

No one on the Capitals has scored more goals this post-season than Ovechkin's three. And he leads the team with six points, too.
Languishing on bench

But head coach Dale Hunter is hiding Ovechkin on the bench for long stretches at a time, especially when the Capitals are trying to protect a lead.

During the regular season, the player known as Alex the Great topped Washington's forwards by averaging 19 minutes 48 seconds of total ice time, and 16:08 of even-strength ice time. In the playoffs, Ovechkin ranks only third, and his numbers are down to 19:08 and 15:23.

"If guys are getting upset about ice time, and that's all you're worrying about, then you're off. You're just not going to play good," Alzner said. "I've seen that happen to a lot of guys."

In Monday night's 3-2 victory at New York, Ovechkin's 10:36 of even-strength time ranked only eighth among Washington's 12 forwards – and was nearly six full minutes less than Jay Beagle, for example.

"We've got guys like Beagle, [Jason] Chimera and [Matt Hendricks] that are looked at when we're leading in a game to maintain that lead," forward Troy Brouwer said, "and Alex knows that, and he has to accept that."

Whether Ovechkin's diminished role is a result of an inability or unwillingness to play the sort of safe, possession-focused, defensive-minded hockey that Hunter seeks – or a result of something else – it's tough to argue with the results. After all, the seventh-seeded Capitals got past the second-seeded and reigning Cup champion Boston Bruins in a tight-as-can-be, each-game-decided-by-one-goal series.

And now Hunter's Capitals are even with the top-seeded Rangers.

"He's coaching the situations. He's playing certain guys. If we're down a goal, [Ovechkin is] going to be our main guy. He's going every other shift. If we're up a goal, then Dale tends to lean on other guys. That's the way it is," forward Mike Knuble said. "I guess they can talk about it this summer after the season and figure it out. For now it's working and we're going to run with it."
'Suck it up'

After Monday's game, Ovechkin said: "You have to suck it up and use [the] time … Dale is giving to me. … Sometimes, if you're not [out] there, you feel like you're not in [the] game, but if you have 10-second shift or 5-second shift, you just have to go there and do something. It's kind of hard."

And during the Bruins series, Ovechkin acknowledged: "Of course, sometimes you get angry you didn't play a lot [of] minutes. And sometimes you get angry you're not out there. But if it's good for the team, you have to eat it."

One direct consequence of his reduced role is less action for New York defenceman Dan Girardi, who had been averaging about 27 minutes in the playoffs before playing about 20½ minutes in Game 2.

"That's the matchup we're trying to get," Girardi said.

Asked whether he's surprised by Washington's strategy with Ovechkin, Girardi replied: "I don't know much about that. You'd have to ask Dale Hunter."

That wasn't possible Tuesday: Neither Ovechkin nor Hunter spoke to reporters at the team's practice facility in Virginia.

When Rangers coach John Tortorella met with the media in New York, things got a little testy, but not before he responded this way when asked about Ovechkin's paltry ice time: "I don't worry or comment about the other team."

Looking for more in-depth analysis?

Rangers defenceman Michael Del Zotto wasn't quite ready to credit the Capitals with doing much at the offensive end.

"We gave them all their goals. They're going to have to do a better job of earning them," he said. "As a whole team here, we can't just give them freebies like that."

Dean
M.Ed (Coaching)
Ch.P.C. (Chartered Professional Coach)
Game Intelligence Training
"Great education depends on great teaching."