The notion among most hockey people is this: Stop a guy named Alexander Ovechkin, and you'll stop the Washington Capitals.

View Large

Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens stops the puck on an attempt by Dave Steckel #39 of the Washington Capitals during the NHL game on November 28, 2009 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Photograph by : Getty Images

ARTICLE TOOLS

• Printer friendly
• E-mail

Font:

• *
• *
• *
• *

So here's a bulletin for you: the Canadiens didn't stop Ovechkin last night. Not by a longshot in this 4-3 shootout win by the Capitals. However, Carey Price did with a couple of splendid stops in the second period - after Ovechkin scored in the first period. And he stopped him again in the shootout when the Capitals sent the game into overtime with only 11.4 seconds remaining in regulation,

Ovechkin's industry last night (eight shots on the net, eight of his shots blocked and two missed the net) normally would have been enough for the Capitals to leave the Bell winners in regulation.

Washington, after all, had scored the game's first two goals on their second and third shots, but the game-saver (well, almost) on this night was when Ovechkin swept in alone on Price in the second minute of the second period - and was stopped. What I'm really saying is that a Canadiens team which didn't play well in the first period and down three goals before the second period was two minutes old, likely would not have been able to come back even against a Capitals bunch which could have used a stimulus package last night.

Price, by the way, was to make another big stop on Ovechkin later in the period, as well as on Jay Beagle's attempt on the rebound when the Capitals held a 2-1 lead.

In other words, score another another game-saver for Price - or two.

Price's big stop fewer than two minutes into the second period appeared to energize the Canadiens to the point where they went into the second intermission locked up, 2-2. Then they got the go-ahead power play goal in the third period from Travis Moen - and oh my! time to celebrate!

There was no celebrating in the first period from the Canadiens, who were down two goals despite holding the Capitals to four shots. The first was deflected by Eric Fehr beyond Price on the Capitals' second shot, the second by Ovechkin on his team's third shot.

There was no way Price was going to stop the deflection, and while he had a clear view of Ovechkin's 18th of the season, Ovechkin has beaten a lot of goaltenders with his greased lightning shot. Put it this way: The pass from linemate Nicklas Backstrom was on its way beyond Price even before he could move on the play.

From that point onward, though, the Canadiens ruled because of Price's big stops - even though he faced only 11 shots in the first two periods and 23 on the game. The fact is, only three of the Capitals caught my eye. As you might suspect, it starts with Ovechkin, and goes on to Fehr, who scored his fifth and sixth goals in the last 12 of the 16 games he's played this season.

This 24-year-old forward was scoreless in his first four games after surgery on both shoulders, but he had to be noticed last night during his 17-plus minutes on the ice. So was Ovechkin centre Nicklas Backstrom, who logged more than 24 minutes and was the only player to score in the shootout.

The Caps were ready to be taken, were dominated during most of the final two periods - and then the Canadiens turned their backs on an important second point - for which they have only themselves to blame.

Such as Paul Mara getting a high-sticking penalty with 16 seconds remaining in regulation, with the Capitals net empty. That's when Fehr scored his second of the game after Ovechkin exerted all kinds of pressure in Price's place of business.

That shouldn't surprise anybody. You can keep this guy down some of the time, but not all of it.

Ovechkin is the NHL's best and most exciting player for all of the right reasons. Loves to shoot the puck. Never stops skating. Time after time, he can't be stopped when he's one-on-one with a defenceman.

He's the complete package from game to game and remains one of the very few players worth the price of admission alone. Which is why, of course, he was roundly booed by Canadiens partisans every time he touched the puck. Brayed at when he was the second shooter in the shootout - and instead of shooting, tried to deke Price out of position - and was stopped.

Hooted all night, but in the final analysis, Ovechkin & Friends had the last word as well as the last laugh when Ovechkin linemate Backstrom got the only goal in the shootout ... by shooting.

Makes sense to me.