FanHouse DonCherry

Each and every Saturday this season I'll be taking a look at the random happenings and absurdities that occur in the world of hockey. Feel free to suggest stories, complain or otherwise babble at me via electronic mail.

This has been a banner week for Knuckle Puck, easily the wackiest and most interesting since I started this feature about a month ago. I have so much to write about that I don't even know where to start things off. Do I go with the Kingston Frontenacs wearing Don Cherry styled jerseys? Or what about the Lightning getting kinky at practice? Then there are the folks at UniWatch showing some love for the red line, and retailer River City Sports trying to trick Islanders fans into buying Rangers hats. What's a writer to do? Well, for starters, you can follow me through the jump.

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.