FanHouse DonCherry

Late last week we gave you the heads up on E:60's upcoming profile of Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin. Earlier this evening, ESPN aired the piece, which you can watch in its entirety right here. I don't want to give any spoilers, but I will say that Ovechkin is in rare form.

Fans of Don Cherry, Sidney Crosby and local speed limits will not be pleased.

Hockey fans in the U.S. love to complain about how ESPN gives the sport short shrift on SportsCenter, so I guess it's only fair to note that the network's E:60 program will be doing a profile on Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin next Tuesday night, April 21, at 7:00 p.m. ESPN's Rachel Nichols not only talks to Ovechkin and a few of his teammates, she also made time to talk to Caps owner Ted Leonsis, Don Cherry and Wayne Gretzky. Enjoy the preview clip.

Last week, as you may remember, Washington's Alexander Ovechkin came under fire from members of the hockey world -- the most well known voice being Don Cherry -- for his wild celebrations. The tipping point came when he scored his 50th goal of the year against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Tonight, the Capitals are in Toronto to play the Maple Leafs and as you might expect, the Toronto media had a field day with Ovechkin sitting in their laps. Actually he was sitting in a visitng locker at the Air Canada Centre, but you know what I mean. For Ovechkin, it was a great chance for him to speak his mind to the media and give the man credit because he did just that. But what else would you expect from the most charismatic player in the game today?

After being stuck on 49 goals for two whole games, Alex Ovechkin became the first -- and perhaps only -- player to hit the 50-goal plateau this season, beating Tampa Bay's Mike McKenna midway through the first period of Washington's 5-2 win. And then he celebrated as only Ovechkin can.

As we continue to wrap up our coverage of Sunday's awesome Penguins-Capitals game, it's worth taking another look at Sidney Crosby's goal in the first period of Pittsburgh's 4-3 shootout win. Not only the goal, but the "aggressive" back-checking of Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin.

The war of words that started last Saturday night on Hockey Night in Canada when Don Cherry chastised Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin for his post-goal celebrations continued earlier this evening, when the CBC talking head decided that it was time to fire back at Ted Leonsis after the Washington Capitals owner compared Cherry to Rush Limbaugh earlier this week.

Though video of the appearance isn't yet available, he's roughly what went down. Cherry's comments came toward the end of his regular weekly appearance on Coach's Corner between the first and second period on Hockey Night in Canada. Cherry had already warmed up the viewing audience earlier in the segment when he jokingly referred to Calgary Flames center Oli Jokinen, a Finn, as a Russian -- because after all, it's impossible to tell those European players apart these days!

UPDATE: Video available after the jump.

Lately, it's become all the rage for fans and players around the NHL to pile on Penguins captain Sidney Crosby. The latest player to jump on the pile was Atlanta Thrashers forward Ilya Kovalchuk, who responded to Crosby's criticism of Alex Ovechkin for his often times over-the-top goal celebrations.

On Saturday night, legendary Canadian hockey analyst Don Cherry offered up his opinion on Ovechkin, and, well, if you're familiar with Cherry, it shouldn't be much of a shock. Video after the jump.

As I mentioned last week, I'm a huge fan of the Canadian hockey broadcasters. CBC does a wonderful job with Hockey Night in Canada, and now fans across America can watch the weekly doubleheader on NHL Network. The pregame show, postgame show, and intermission programming are all first-rate.

Certainly, whether you love him or hate him, Don Cherry's "Coach's Corner" segment is one of the highlights of HNIC. Saturday, Cherry spent time talking about Doug Gilmour, whose number was retired by the Maple Leafs, and then ripped Minnesota Wild rookie Cal Clutterbuck.

Every Monday morning The Ice Sheet will take a close look at everything that's happened in the NHL since Friday night at 5:00 p.m. -- or if need be, anything else the author wants to bleat about. To read them all, click here.

If I had the ability to give a Christmas gift to every ice hockey fan in North America, it would have to be a free subscription to the NHL Network. I know I've sung the network's praises before, but in a country where NHL highlights on television are few and far between, I don't think the NHL Network can be praised often enough.

Better yet, the minds who run the admittedly obscure sports network weren't satisfied with the state of the product going into this season. So, in a move that has to rank among the most farsighted in sports television in 2008, the NHL Network handed its Saturday night scheduled during the regular season over to the CBC, a move that has brought Hockey Night in Canada (HNIC) into living rooms all across the USA.

Needless to say, the move is something of a revelation for hockey fans who are used to seeing the sport get short shrift on American television. It's really quite amazing to sit yourself down at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday night and realize that for the next 7 hours or so, you'll find yourself at the center of the hockey universe. Formerly a treat reserved for subscribers to NHL Center Ice, it's impossible for me to argue against a decision that's put the program that gives the sport white glove treatment in front of as many American fans as possible.

Of course, that also means we get to see the sport get the sort of treatment in between breaks in play that's normally reserved for the other major sports in the USA. Sometimes it's a good thing. Then again, it can be a bad thing too, which was the case on Saturday night when the topic on Coach's Corner turned to Vancouver Canucks center Mats Sundin.

Hockey Night in Canada personality Don Cherry is the gift that keeps on giving to hockey bloggers. Whenever the guy opens his mounts, he's equally likely to say something entertaining, enlightening or outrageous. And when a Canadian Press reporter caught up with him at a racetrack in Toronto on Thursday, he was a little bit of all those things.

• He admitted that he's going to miss the theme music that's been with Hockey Night in Canada for 40 years when the show returns in the Fall, but hastened to add that he was disappointed that the composer of the song, Dolores Claman, didn't show more loyalty to the program;
  

• When it comes to a replacement, Cherry would be fine with The Hockey Song, the iconic tune by Stompin' Tom Connors, but would prefer to see You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet ,originally performed by 70s Canadian rock band Bachman Turner Overdrive, get the spot. One would assume it would be updated and re-recorded, much like Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting was freshened up by Nickelback;
  

• Defended Maple Leaf veterans Bryan McCabe and Darcy Tucker, dismissing calls for either player to be bought out of the remainder of their contracts; and

• Complained bitterly that Hockey Hall of Fame voters had passed over Ontario-native and Cherry favorite Doug Gilmour in the latest round of balloting earlier this week. Said Cherry: "That's ridiculous ... I'm not knocking the guys who were in there now but they couldn't carry his jockstrap."

• More or less acknowledged that Anaheim GM Brian Burke would be working in Toronto soon enough.

One question I would have liked to ask Cherry: What did he think of the contention of Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy that the Lakers lost the NBA title to the Celtics because they had too many Europeans on the roster?