Via the Daily Herald

Seriously, what a dirty player Ovechkin is. What a disgrace his injurious hit on Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell was Sunday. What a pollutant the Capitals' scoring machine is to the NHL.

Man, what I wouldn't give to have him on my hockey team.

Who wouldn't want someone who isn't afraid to deposit pucks into the net and bodies into the boards? Hawks fans are lying if they say they wouldn't because of what happened to Campbell.  Mike Imrem, Reporter, Chicago Daily Herald

The NHL has decided to suspend Alexander Ovechkin for his push of Chicago's Brian Campbell.

NHL Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell ruled that it was a "reckless" hit by Ovechkin, who received a five-minute boarding major and a game misconduct on the play that occurred 12:16 into the first period.

Ovechkin, now considered a repeat offender under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, forfeits $232,645.40 in salary, based on the number of games in the season (82), rather than the number of days (193). The money goes to the Players' Emergency Assistance Fund.

Campbell reportedly suffered a broken clavicle and broken ribs after Ovechkin shoved him into the end boards. He was scheduled to meet with a team doctor Monday afternoon for further evaluation.

To me, the NHL in Toronto has sent a clear message to at least me as a fan.  The message is, the NHL has decided to make a top priority pushing, wow leaving head shots go.  Listen, if they want to suspend Ovechkin, fine.  I don't think it was a worthy suspension hit, at most, possibly a double minor, not even a major.  However, the Canada based NHL has decided to make an example of the Russian superstar.  Take that statement for what ever you infer from it.

The horrendous part of the suspension is not the fact that Alex the Great will miss two games.  The Washington Capitals are without the Great 8 a total of 7-1 .  The Capitals are not the same team as they were three years ago.  They have plenty of fire power without Ovechkin and have proven that goals and wins come easily, even without Alex.  Ask Chicago.   The unfair part of the suspension is the evidence of other, more brutal, more serious, and more intentional hits, as evidenced by the Steve Downie, Mike Richards, and Matt Cooke videos we POSTED HERE.  These hits were intentional and two of the three were aimed head shots.  No suspensions issued by the NHL.  None.  But, the push by Ovechkin and awkward fall by Campbell is suspendable.

Fact is, Gary Bettman and Colin Campbell are clowns who have failed to reign in intentional, injurious hits, and they are using Ovechkin as an example, while others are let loose.  Head shots like Matt Cooke and Mike Richards have no place in the sport.  Yet the NHL turned a blind eye.  Alex plays a fast, aggressive game, and sometimes these collisions happen. But, there was nothing intentional, the hit was not meant to be a vicious or punishing hit, Ovechkin was simply finishing off a fore check at a pretty decent speed.  That is suspendable, apparently.

One can say, well look at the damage.  Campbell is out for the rest of the regular season with broken collerbone and rib. Yes, that sucks.  If that is the reason for the suspension, then that's an issue.  Why?  Because I think David Booth and Marc Sarvard might have an issue with it as well.  Again, the message is clear, finishing off an agressive, perhaps a little too aggressive, fore check is not acceptable, but going for an intentional hit on the knee (Downie on Crosby)  and to the head (Booth and Savard), well, that is ok.  Nice job NHL.  Nice message.  Heard loud and clear.  When you look at the pure brutal nature of the Cooke and Richards hits and then realize there were no repercussions, there is nothing left to say but, Wow.  I am sure David Booth and Marc Savrad are feeling much better about their employer right now.

Here is the Washington Capital statement.

"We have no problem with the way Alex tried to finish his check," GM George McPhee said in a statement. "Unfortunately, an injury resulted. We are disappointed with the suspension but do not want to comment further."

Update, 5:50 p.m.: Tarik just spoke to Coach Bruce Boudreau at the team hotel in South Florida. Here's some of what he had to say:

"I've been pacing all day upstairs, waiting for the decision. It's a tough call for [NHL VP Colin Campbell]. I don't want his job today. ... The decision has been made. I don't agree with it. But maybe if I was [Chicago Coach] Joel Quenneville, I wouldn't think it wasn't enough. ...

"I watched [the hit] frame by frame, trying to think what they would think. To me, there's no way that was anywhere near a vicious as [Colorado enforcer David] Koci's hit on Mike [Green on Dec. 15]. Nowhere near. ...

"If you look at it, [Campbell's] skates were parallel to the net. Once Campbell dishes it off, he knows Alex is there. He doesn't hit him, he pushes him. As he's going, it looked to me like [Campbell's] left leg stumbled and he almost toe-picked the ice. He's one of the greatest skaters in the game. He's stayed healthy because he's able to avoid this. I'm sure he thought he was going to spin off it. ...

"The [refs] waited and waited. They didn't want to make the call. The last thing [referee] Dan O'Halloran wanted to do was kick Alex Ovechkin out of an NBC game. But he thought in his mind that, 'If this guy is hurt, I have to give him a five-minute major.' ...

"Alex pushed [Campbell]. He pushed him. If he doesn't fall awkwardly into the boards, a) Is it a penalty? b) Are we having this discussion? ... Alex is so much stronger than everyone else. So we're penalizing him for being strong. ..

Here is the Ovechkin push on Campbell

Now, here is Steve Downie's hit on Sidney Crosby, which the No Hit League will NOT review

and Matt Cook's head shot on Marc Savard that caused a serious concussion, again, NO league action

And finally, Mike Richards brutal hit on David Booth, again, no League suspension.

So is the Ovechkin push on Campbell more seriosu than these incredibly dangerous hits.  yet each of these three went unsanctioned.  Come on NHL, get a grip.  Ovechkin pushed Campbell, Campbell awkwardly fell because of the ice.  It was not intentional, nor illegal.  Looking at it closely, the push was to more of the side of Campbell, not the back. 

The Washington capitals are being proactive when it comes to the push of Alexander Ovechkin on Chicago's Brian Campbell.  The Capos have formally asked the No Hit League (NHL) to rescind the major penalty on Ovechkin.  Unlikely. 

In fact, Bob McKenzie from TSN thinks Ovechkin will be suspended.   Kukla's JKorner thinks it will look bad if the No Hit League does notsuspend Ovechkin.  I beg to differ.  I think the NHL wouldlook silly suspending Ovechkin while head hunter Matt Cooke gets nothing. 

Ryan Kennedy's latest from The Hockey News believe the right call was made during the game. 

I can understand if Chicago fans want Ovie suspended, but I think the refs at the game handed out the perfect justice (though as a side note, I think I heard a couple NBC execs shriek when the marquee player in their Game of the Week was booted midway through the first period).

But suspension.  No. 

Ryan Lambert doesn't think so.  He thinks Caps fans are wrong.

But really, a play like this, and subsequent defense of it from Caps fans (hint: when you're on Mike Milbury's side of an argument, you're on the wrong side) is unconscionable. Someone's going to get seriously hurt one of these days, and it's going to put everyone -- especially Colin Campbell -- in a tough spot.

I will agree on the Milbury part.  But come on Ryan, go back and look at it.  It was a push, it was in the side, and Campbell stumbled.  Get over the Ovie hate.  Sorry.  I have watched the video over, over, and over again.  It was a push.  It was a fall by Campbell.  Is the NHL becomeing a NFL style protect the quarterback at all costs, even when a player is in mid-air trying to get the QB and a roughing the passer call ensues? 

For once I agree with Mike Milbury.  If players don't want to get hit, go play squash.  This is the NHL dammit.  Matt Cook's hit was blatant and dangerous and intentional.  No suspension.  Ovechkin was in the heat of the game, a push to the side and an unfortunate result.  Two totally diffferent scearios.  Two totally different intentions. 

Fact is, the Greatest player on the planet invokes alot of different emotions throughout the NHL and through NHL arenas.  Differing opinions are all over the board.  So what can we do....

We simply wait. 

Alexander Ovechkin was ejected from the game in the first period on a very questionable hit that replay shows was a push to the side, not the back.  According to NBC Sports, Ovechkin's ejection was probably the end of the Caps.  You know -- the Caps are nothing without #8.  At least that is what NBC apparently thought.  And it actually looked the way the first two periods.

The Blackhawks took a 3-0 lead into the third period, two goals scored by Johnathan Toews in the first period and John Madden scoring in the second period.  It did look as if the Caps were going to fall.  Defense was porous and the power play pretty ineffective.  That was until the third period.

The Capitals rallied in the third period to score 3 goals in 2:16 to tie the game and eventually send it into overtime.  Brooks Laich nailed home the first goal on the Caps power play, taking a rebound off a Mike Green shot and putting it past Chicago goalie Antti Niemi to pull the Caps within 2 goals.  It was Laich's 22nd goal of the season.  It didn't take long for the Caps to strike again.  A little over two minutes later, Nicklas Backstrom struck for his 27th goal of the season and pulled the Caps to a 3-2 deficit.  The 1 goal deficit would last just 13 second when David Steckel avoided a Caps icing, in traffic behind the net, centered a pass in front to Eric Fehr who blasted it by Niemi to tie the game at 3-3.  It was Fehr's 18th tally of the year and stunned a suddenly quiet Chicago crowd.

The game went into overtime and the Caps won on a rebound taken by Nicklas Backstrom who scored his second of the game, the game winner, to complete the stunning 3 goal deficit comeback and lift the Capitals to over 100 season points.  The Caps improved to 46-14-9 with 101 standing points.

Jose Theodore stopped 20 of 23 shots to win his 4th straight game and improve to 4-0 in the month of March.  Theo is 15-3 since the start of 2010.

PLAYER OF THE GAME:  NICKLAS BACKSTROM

Quote of the Game:  Unfortunately goes to Mike Milbury.  During the first intermission, when discussing the Ovechkin hit and the hitting controversy in the NHL in general, Milbury responded and said . . ."If you don't want to get hit, then go play squash."

Milbury called it a totally legal hit that should have drawn, at most, a two minute minor.  Scott Burnside from ESPN agrees.

Here's a suggestion (and we know how much Campbell enjoys suggestions from the peanut gallery): Do nothing, again.

Only this time, Campbell would completely get it right if he simply lets Sunday's call stand -- Ovechkin was ejected in the first period of a key game against Chicago after pushing Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell into the boards behind the Chicago net.

Campbell was stunned and did not return to action, while Ovechkin was tossed for the third time this season, assessed a five-minute major for boarding and a 10-minute misconduct and game misconduct.

We understand the call (we could have lived with a double-minor), but as for requiring further action, we don't think so.

The Ovechkin hit, though, has nothing to do with any of that. Did he deserve a penalty? Sure. But was it reckless? No. Was it predatory or intended to injure? No.

And so, this Ovechkin incident should pass -- unlike the Cooke hit, which went unpunished -- because it is the right thing to do.

Tarik at the Washington Post reports on an interview with former Soviet era great Igor Larionov.

There aren't many people in Russian hockey as respected and as well-versed in both the NHL and the KHL as Igor "The Professor" Larionov, a Hall of Famer and the pivot of the famed Soviet KLM line.

"What Russia lacked was the heart. And you can't even blame [Ovechkin] or any particular players. One person has a bad day - so what? There are 20 on the team. In the Stanley Cup playoffs it often happens that in the beginning, the stars step back in the shadows and it's up to [players like the Detroit Red Wings'] [Kirk] Maltby and [Kris] Draper and [Darren] McCarty to carry the team. And then, when their energy is running out, the skill and experience take over. The mistake of our coaches was their poor familiarity with North American hockey. The Canadians had Sidney Crosby, who toiled everywhere, in all three zones, which is why he is the pride of Canada. We have Ovechkin, but not much beyond him."

Did Igor just slap that crap out of Evgeni Malkin?

Ice hockey Olympics is wrapping up and some seriously good hockey is to come.  Your Washington Capitals will not be part of any medal round.

In a shocking defeat, the Russians were blown out of Vancouver by a suddenly resurgent Team Canada.  Canada came into the Olympics with a 'favored' status to win the gold, loaded on each Line.  After a shocking loss to Team USA, the Canadians have been on a mission to reassert their dominant status and have done just that.  Yesterday, the Canadians thumped the Russians 7-3, knowing Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin out of the Olympics and sending them back to Washington.  The head scratching thing to me about the Russian teams was two things.  One, why was there no goalie change at all during the 7-3 blowout?  Two, defense wins Olympic hockey and the Russians simply didn't have any.  We all had high hopes for the Russians because of the fire power of Ovechkin, Semin, Evgeni Malkin, and Pavel Datysuk, but the fact is, the Russian defense was porous and Canada exposed it badly.  Team Canada put up 42 shots on goal in a much anticipated match up.  In the end, the Russians went out with nothing short of a whimper.

My feeling is, this hurt for Great 8.  Let's hope Ovechkin channels that frustration going forward toward the ultimate prize, the Stanley Cup.

In another shocker, defending Gold Medal champs Sweden were defeated by the Slovaks 4-3.  It wasn't as big of an upset given the quality of hockey played by the Slovaks throughout the Winter Olympics thus far.  Nicklas Backstrom will join his fellow Caps in the flight out of Vancouver into Washington.  He exits leading the Swedes in scoring with 1 goal and 4 assist, 5 points.

Finally, Tomas Fleischmann can catch up to Backy, Ovie, and Semin for the flight home as the Czech Republic, another medal favorite exits after getting shutout by Finland 2-0.    What a great game by Calgary goalie Mikka Kiprusoff, stopping all 21 Swede shots for the win.

Your Capitals final stats:

Nicklas Backstrom (SWE), 1 goal, 5 assists (2nd in overall), 6 points (2nd overall), +1, 68.97 face off percentage (2nd overall)

Alex Ovechkin (RUS), 2 goals, 2 assists, 4 points, +1

Alexander Semin (RUS), 0 goals, 2 assists, 2 points, 0

Tomas Fleischmann (CZE)

Congrats to Nicklas Backstrom on a fine Olympic performance, finishing 2nd overall in Assists, Points, and Faceoff percentage,

Here is Jaromir Jagr's quote after the Russian/Czech game and the Ovechkin smashing hit on Jagr via Dmitry Chesnokov.

"I wish I had a concussion. That way I would forget Ovechkin quicker." Jaromir Jagr