"I just didn't play well. I watched my shifts, and the goal, when I scored, was lucky, and after...

"I just didn't play well. I watched my shifts, and the goal, when I scored, was lucky, and after that I didn't skate. I don't move my legs, and I think [the Penguins] did a good job, but it's not about them. It's all about me. It's my fault, and [Sergei Fedorov] and [Viktor Kozlov] give me good pass to create something, but I didn't create, because — I don't know. My legs just didn't run, and I don't know why. I feel pretty good last game, but I just don't know why I didn't play well."

- Alexander Ovechkin on his Game 3 performance

about 3 years ago J.P. 21 comments 0 recs |

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This, of course, on the heels of Mike Green’s “My mind wants to go, but my legs won’t.”

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by J.P. on May 8, 2009 3:12 PM EDT reply actions

What is going on with this team?

by Ovechwin on May 8, 2009 3:14 PM EDT reply actions

yeah, bad time guys. seriously, though, i have no idea what to make of this statement. it sure sounds like fatigue (as does the mike green comment). if that’s the case, the back-to-back could be perilous to this group.

by Natty Bumppo on May 8, 2009 3:16 PM EDT up reply actions

I have no idea. And no theories on it. None.

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by J.P. on May 8, 2009 3:23 PM EDT up reply actions

in which case, BB’s “i’ll worry about saturday on saturday” attitude is pretty scary. why not limit his shifts, at the very least for tonight’s game in anticipation of saturday night. he’s dying now; how’s he going to feel on the end of a back-to-back?

by Natty Bumppo on May 8, 2009 3:26 PM EDT up reply actions

Earth to Gabby. Earth to Gabby.

Modern Art Notes

by TylerG on May 8, 2009 3:49 PM EDT up reply actions

J.P., I’ve been telling everyone I talk to about this, and referencing your post as the background. You’re spot on, my man. And I think this compounds with the ice situation. The reason the Caps are upset about ice conditions is because it’s a fatiguing thing to play on soft ice. When you’re already behind the 8-ball because of a 7-game battle with the Rags and your top guys are running 60-second shifts as opposed to the :45-:50 they should be running, bad ice is the worst thing that can hit you.

Well, other than the swine flu.

But kudos on being the first person to really call this issue out.

by docciavelli on May 8, 2009 4:25 PM EDT up reply actions

Thanks, Doc. And as I mentioned in the other thread, it sounds like your guy Orpik isn’t thrilled with the sheet either – it’s hardly one side complaining about it.

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by J.P. on May 8, 2009 4:44 PM EDT up reply actions

It’s almost like having Ovechkin skate 23 minutes and Green skate 28 minutes on a regular basis, while also allowing them 75 second shifts, has started to wear them down….

by David Getz on May 8, 2009 3:39 PM EDT up reply actions

Everyone has a bad game now and then. Of course, it really bites when the whole team gets it at once. As long as it doesn’t recur, I’m not worried.

Ask me again tomorrow morning.

by gfcaps fan on May 8, 2009 3:28 PM EDT reply actions

Sidenote:

AO supporters read “the goal, when I scored, was lucky.”

AO detractors only read “it’s not about them. It’s all about me.”

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by J.P. on May 8, 2009 3:35 PM EDT reply actions

if that’s the case, i guess i’ll never understand. he was clearly asked how he felt last game. i’d call “my goal was lucky” humble, not self-serving.

by Natty Bumppo on May 8, 2009 3:37 PM EDT up reply actions

That’s my point. You’re in that first group, Natty. :)

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by J.P. on May 8, 2009 3:42 PM EDT up reply actions

in this case, we might be seeing something similar to the backlash against crosby. these two are more often asked about themselves and their personal rivalries than about their teams. at one point or another we’re bound to see quotes that, taken out of context, are (1) self-aggrandizing, (2) disrespectful to teammates, (3) disrespectful to the other team, or (4) boring.

by Natty Bumppo on May 8, 2009 3:51 PM EDT up reply actions

Refreshing to hear this from Caps fans. I’m so tired of Crosby being taken out of context, and sometimes it leads me to take Ovie out of context just to prove how dumb some of the things he says can sound. Both guys are put under a microscope—and it’s expected when you make $9 mil a season and are the poster boys of the new NHL.

Of course, Crosby hasn’t done an Eastern’s commercial yet. Maybe Heinz can get him to dance around squirting a bottle of ketchup or something.

by docciavelli on May 8, 2009 4:29 PM EDT up reply actions

The fact that Ovie’s humble enough to degrade himself on TV for our amusement is one of the reasons we love him so much.

by DrinkingPartner on May 8, 2009 4:37 PM EDT up reply actions

You haven’t made it in DC until you humiliate yourself for Easterns.

by snowburnt on May 8, 2009 4:51 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs

I think [the Penguins] did a good job, but it’s not about them. It’s all about me.

I feel pretty good last game, but I just don’t know why I didn’t play well."

Personally I think he was closer to the truth in the beginning of his statement.

Besides the odd goal, Hal Gill and Rob Scuderi kept good gap control, keep Alex as far out as possible, and use their sticks to block/deflect a lot away in Game 3.

Aside from the weird bounce, Ovechkin hasn’t scored at even strength while Gill/Scuderi are out there. (Though he’s scored about every other way.) That’s the matchup the Penguins want, and when they’ve gotten it I think Ovechkin’s been relatively quiet.

I don’t think it’s wrong that Ovechkin puts a lot of stock in his own performance, he’s earned that. But if the evidence builds up that #2 and #4 are limiting him we’ll see what he says at the end of the series.

Personally, I don’t consider myself an AO “detractor” but as an opposing fan I’ll take Ovechkin talking about himself playing “poorly” (even though he scored a goal) any way he wants to talk about that!

by Hooks Orpik on May 8, 2009 3:45 PM EDT up reply actions

But you have to realize that they weren’t asking Ovechkin about his team’s performance, they were asking about why he didn’t win the game for Washington, essentially. He was saying, “it’s my fault I didn’t score the goals we needed,” not “my team doesn’t win if I don’t score.” He goes on to emphasize how his teammates played well enough to allow him to have the chances he did, but that it was his fault that the plays didn’t end in goals.

And I realize you’re just arguing for argument’s sake :-), I know there’s no anger here.

by DrinkingPartner on May 8, 2009 4:20 PM EDT up reply actions

You know, the real story here isn’t Ovechkin or Crosby. It’s Malkin, Semin, Green, Guerin, etc. Both teams have guys slumping hard in this series, and it may just be that they’re dead tired already as well. Malkin finally showed up Wednesday, and it sounds like Semin’s banged up.

You know Crosby and Ovie will come to play. But who else will? Do Fleury and Varlamov stay strong? Does one team’s D crack more than the other’s? That’s what decides this series.

by docciavelli on May 8, 2009 4:37 PM EDT reply actions

JEEZ oh whiz

but this starts to look like a bunch of guys groping for explanations, and – dare I propose it?- excuses. My pessimism needle just went smack off the dial. Good heavens if there was ever a time for the unsung gritty 3rd and 4th line chaps to step up, now is it.

by Uncle C on May 8, 2009 5:24 PM EDT reply actions