No doubt you’ve already read about last night’s victory by Washington over the Penguins. Sitting at a 2-2 deadlock late in the third, it took all of four seconds for the Caps to score on the power play to take the lead for good. And by Caps, I really mean Alexander Ovechkin. Is there anything he can’t do? While the announcer was still reeling off the penalty call, Ovechkin buried a shot past Fleury right off the face-off. Smoke filled the air, noise engulfed the arena, and the Capitals held their first lead of the game. All that stood between the team and victory were a mere 7 minutes or so of game time. Had the margin held, it would have been déjà vu from game 1. Of course, the game did not end that way. Ovechkin would later add his third goal on a sweet one-on-one play, only to be equaled in hatrickery by Sidney Crosby with a goal in the last minute to make the final score 4-3. By my calculations, Ovechkin and Crosby cancelled each other out, making the secret weapon Dave Steckel. Who knew? All I know is that these are not your father’s Capitals.
Of course the news keeps going beyond the game. A late game cross-check by Pittsburgh winger Chris Kunitz to Varlamov’s head went unpenalized, but news has broke he has since been fined $2,500. That’s the maximum allowable amount under the collective bargaining agreement. Here’s video of the incident:
Not that Caps fan will be satisfied by the lack of suspension to Kunitz. There may be a lack of consistency or following of precedent, but maybe the whole saga can serve as fuel to the fire for next game. You know, the one where Donald Brashear is suspended. Send hate letters to the NHL, attention: Colin Campbell.
And on a lighter note, last night’s game was seen in person by both Washington Redskins head coach Jim Zorn and Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh. Predictably, Zorn was largely applauded while Harbaugh was roundly booed. The best moment of the two, however, came during Zorn’s appearance on the kiss camera. I’ll let the video speak for itself:
D.C. Sports Bog has much more on the Zorn appearance.
On to Pittsburgh and Game 3!
