Posts tagged AlexanderOvechkin at FanHouse

With how the Minnesota Wild have been struggling offensively since Marian Gaborik's injury, any kind of comeback win is appreciated.

There are probably times where even scoring a goal feels like it will take a superhuman effort.

Friday afternoon in St. Paul, Minnesota got a rare comeback win. Granted, it was against Tampa Bay, but it was a comeback win.

The 4-2 win gave Minnesota a 2-3 record on their five-game homestand. The uncharacteristically poor homestand was keyed by an offense that sputtered to just six goals in the three losses and gave up a lead in each of the three. They also nearly blew a 4-0 lead late in the game against Washington.

Tampa Bay was the one blowing a lead Friday. They were up 2-1 heading into the third period before Marc-Andre Bergeron drew the Wild even. A few minutes later, Mikko Koivu scored the game-winner for Minnesota, and it was a thing of beauty.

While the Wild television commentators may have gone a bit overboard in comparing Koivu's goal to a famous one by Alexander Ovechkin, it doesn't change the fact that it was a very nice goal. Video after the jump.

Anyone who has watched even a little bit of NHL hockey has been bombarded by advertisements featuring wunderkind (the best player ever!) Sidney Crosby. Sidney sells, and there are no shortage of companies wetting their pants to get Crosby to pretend that he actually buys and uses their product.

How about Alexander Ovechkin, the most exciting player in the NHL? We've seen little of him in the marketing arena, as companies don't seem to be able to or want to get behind the guy.

Apparently, that's about to change ...

In the works are deals with Ferrari and U.S. mobile phone company Verizon, says Konstantin Selinevich, who spearheads Ovechkin's off-ice business relationships. Selinevich says talks continue with others, including Coca-Cola. Just last month, the Wasserman Media Group, a powerful sports marketing agency in Los Angeles, was hired to buttress efforts to land endorsements for Ovechkin.

While the star already has sponsor agreements with Reebok's CCM brand, trading-card company Upper Deck and Hype, an energy drink, none has put much marketing muscle behind him. (Selinevich says that will change this summer when Reebok rolls out an Ovechkin clothing line.)

"It's been hard; in the past there have been some language-skills issues," says Selinevich, who has worked with Ovechkin since 2004. "Now, he's had such an unbelievable season that there is more interest, but we don't want him to be a walking billboard. You'll see some major deals this summer."

Yeah, I know there are language issues (although if you ever hear an Ovechkin interview, there aren't THAT many), but that didn't stop marketers from jumping on Yao Ming, despite the fact that the guy is absolutely boring to watch when he's actually working.

While I understand why the golden boy Crosby gets so many endorsements, I'm shocked that companies haven't jumped on the Ovechkin bandwagon all that much. Just put on a few highlight reels of Ovechkin, and the guy pretty much sells himself. For all of Crosby's greatness, his on-ice exploits aren't nearly as flashy and he doesn't have the same 'WOW' factor.

The following video is from the always funny Onion News Network. It's a dream of mine to figure out how these guys come up with such consistently hilarious stuff. It's pretty awesome, as I'm sure you know. Now this video isn't exactly pro-hockey. It's about Alex Ovechkin getting drafted to play professional sports so it's anything but. Sometimes we have to laugh at ourselves. If we can't, then we're just uptight and annoying to be friends with. The end of the video tries to make up for all the hockey bashing as well, as the reporter and commentator show that they know nothing about hockey or even what Ovechkin looks like. It's all in jest, so don't fry me over this one folks. Deal?



h/t Covered in Oil

Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.

Every hockey fan knows that it's not goalie interference if a defenseman shoves an opponent into that D-man's own keeper. The rule was interpreted in two different ways in two critical games last night, leading to two very angry coaches.

In Carolina -- where Alexander Ovechkin scored his 61st goal, breaking the Capitals' single-season record -- Erik Cole was pushed into Washington goalie Cristobal Huet by defenseman Shaone Morrisonn, and the puck trickled into the net along with nearly all involved. A long video review followed, the game-tying goal was allowed, and Caps coach Bruce Boudreau had a flabbergasted exchange with the officials. Although the Capitals went on to win, 3-2, in the skills competition -- proving once again why signing shootout specialist Viktor Kozlov was a shrewd off-season move -- Carolina managed to steal a charity point and remain four points ahead in the Southeast.

The night's other goalie bump came in New Jersey. And for the goal-deprived Devils, it was a critical call.

(Coming Up Next: Last Night's Losers, Puck Headlines, Slamming Jordin Tootoo and more Jonathan Roy video.)<

FanHouse is Alexander Ovechkin man-crush country, so arguing against etching his name on this year's Hart Trophy is a bit like proposing an increase on the price of bullets at an NRA conference. His 60-goal season combined with Washington's dogged pursuit of a postseason berth has made his candidacy practically Messianic amongst Capitals fans: Without him, it would be a question of "Seattle or Kansas City" rather than the playoffs, and his performance in the second half has been that of "a Messier-like leader."

Recall that Messier found the postseason in 17 of his first 18 seasons in the League. And since Ovechkin is the League's best player this season by any statistic measurement -- from the glamour stats to game-winning goals to his remarkable numbers after signing his $124 million contract extension -- the only legitimate argument against giving him the award is if he and the Capitals fall short of the playoff cut. That's the case Ross McKeon builds on Yahoo Sports today in touting Jarome Iginla for the Hart (a player who'd have my vote should the Capitals miss). It's also at the heart of Damien Cox's Hart argument for Nicklas Lidstrom, really nailing the point by calling it "the Marcel Dionne standard" and that "picking an MVP off a non-playoff team just doesn't pass the smell test."

Steve Simmons of Sun Media argues: "If the Caps miss out by a point or two, how does that lessen what Ovechkin has accomplished?" The answer is that it doesn't ... but making the playoffs and winning a division certainly helps increase the prestige for players like Lidstrom and Iginla and Marty Brodeur, whom his rivals argue is without question the MVP if he didn't have his own award to win. (Mirtle's argument for Ovechkin -- "poor coaching early on, bad management decisions, an inexperienced blueline, lack of secondary scoring" -- should be on Brodeur's tombstone for the 2007-08 season.)

While the super-delegates haven't all lined up behind him yet, I believe Ovie's final numbers and his panache -- with a little East Coast bias, 'natch -- will win him the Hart even if the Capitals miss the postseason. And it would be a cruel fate for Ovechkin, who has vehemently downplayed the importance of his own accomplishments when compared the significance of making the playoffs. I wonder which player would have his vote...

Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.

BREAKING NEWS! SPINNING RED SIREN! MUST CREDIT FANHOUSE!



OK, so by now everyone has either heard about or seen Islanders defenseman Rob Davison's 190-or-so-foot goal that bounced past Leafs goalie Vesa Toskala -- a gaffe so egregious that it may have actually let Bryan McCabe off the hook for his own goof earlier this season. This shorthanded embarrassment was one of the most quickly YouTube'd hockey highlights in recent memory; perhaps because it involved the Leafs, or perhaps because this type of thing is just so improbable on so many levels. But Toskala laughed it off after his team's 3-1 win over New York, and for good reason: Unlike the Islanders, Toronto still finds itself in an increasingly muddled playoff picture.

(Coming Up Next: Last Night's Losers, Puck Headlines, Photo of the Day, Tonight's Must-See Games and video of a solid brawl between Columbus and Calgary.)

Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.

After ripping apart the NHL like a lion picking apart a newly-caught gazelle, the Detroit Red Wings finally ran into a few bumps in the road.

Injuries, which the Wings had few of for most of the season, poor play, general malaise, and bad luck turned a nearly-unbeatable squad to a team that couldn't win a game during a 1-8-2 stretch.

As the injuries heal, and the team wakes up from their slumber, expect more results like tonight's 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues.

Detroit was forced to play almost three games without its top four defensemen: Lidstrom, Rafalski, Kronwall and Chelios. Kronwall and Hasek returned this past Friday, and Rafalski was back in the lineup against St. Louis on Wednesday night. Rafalski even scored a goal, while Lidstrom is expected back Sunday against Nashville.

"Finally to have these two guys back, it really helps our defense," said Hasek, who made 18 saves. "Not only defense, but I would say, once we get to the puck, they can skate with the puck, they can move the puck very quickly and give it to the forwards. It looked like we didn't spend as much time in our zone. One of the reasons was because we moved the puck much, much faster than before."

During the dark days, the Dallas Stars looked like they might just usurp the league crown from the Wings. With these two wins, the Wings are now seven points ahead with two games in hand. If the Wings don't end up with the President's Trophy, it'll be a choke worthy of Jean van de Velde.

Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.

With all of the talk about Alexander Ovechkin winning the Hart Trophy and the Art Ross trophies in a High School cakewalk, most people haven't quite noticed another superstar Russian kicking ass and taking names: Evgeni Malkin.

Now that Alexander Ovechkin has gone three straight games without a point (I'd blame his new girlfriend for sapping his energy *Ahem*), Malkin has leapfrogged Ovechkin and taken the lead in the NHL's scoring race.

"It's a great feeling to be leading the NHL in scoring," Malkin said through translator George Birman. "There are still lots of games left and Ovechkin is a good player. He will try to prove he's the best in the NHL. We'll see what will happen."

Malkin continues his torrid play. He saw his five-game goal streak snapped, but extended his points streak to nine games (6+14). He has 38 points (19+19) in his past 20 games.

"I never had a stretch like that over here in the NHL or back when I played in Russia," Malkin said. "I just want to thank all my teammates who are giving me such great passes.

Since Sidney Crosby went down to injury, the Penguins have gone 8-4-2.. Rather than wilt and cry about their predicament, Malkin decided that it was his time to step out of Crosby's shadow and carry the team for awhile. Certainly, Malkin ought to be entering the MVP discussion and booting Vincent Lecavalier all the way to the golf course.

In the first period of yesterday's 4-3 overtime loss in Washington, professional pain-in-the-posterior Sean Avery was doing what he does best for the Rangers: Scoring a hard-working goal to tie the game and doing his damnedest to goad someone into doing something stupid. That agitation included a trash-talking entanglement with Alexander Ovechkin that had the crowd buzzing.

But Ovechkin skated away. That was the game plan. As much as coaches prepare their teams for dynamic offensive players or seemingly impenetrable goalies, they also have to make their players aware of guys like Avery -- and how to handle them. "We told everybody to ignore him," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau told me after the game. "He's very effective at what he does. There were a couple of times when he was yelling in between the glass. When everybody's staring straight out and not paying attention, what's the use of yelling? So he stopped doing it."

With Avery hounding Ovechkin, defenseman (and game-winner) Mike Green and anyone else wearing a red jersey, that's easier said than done -- hell, even his own teammates want a piece of the pest. But Boudreau was confident a player like Ovechkin would be able to withstand Avery's antics. "Ovie doesn't doesn't do something silly. If you know Ovie, he just takes numbers, and the next time you touch the puck he's a runaway truck."

Boudreau told me he has some insight into the mind of Sean Avery, having coached him for three games with the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL, back when Avery was with the Los Angeles Kings.

What was that like? "It was three games with Sean Avery," Boudreau said dryly.

Every day from Monday to Saturday, The Ice Sheet will take a look at the biggest stories in the league that happened on the ice and elsewhere the night before.

If you had to build a franchise around one of the league's young players, and it couldn't be either Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin, you would probably go with Calgary defenseman Dion Phaneuf. Rarely does a club get the chance to utilize a defenseman that is the complete package of size, toughness, grit, strength, shooting power, and offensive acumen.

Therefore, you can be sure the Flames knew they had something special in their modern day Scott Stevens-like stalwart, and they were going to do everything in their power to keep the boy around.

How about a big nice contract extension for six years at about $6.5 million per season? Yeah, that ought to do it.

I'm excited about the prospect of playing another six years in Calgary," said Phaneuf. "In fact, I never thought I would be playing anywhere else. I am proud to be a member of this organization and will continue to concentrate on the job at hand - making and advancing in the playoffs this year and for years to come."

Maybe, just this once, we'll see a smile from the guy with the perma-sourpuss on his face?