The Thrill of Victory

I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I knew all along that the Montreal Canadiens would win their first two playoff series this year and advance to the Conference Final.

Sure, like all Habs fans I was hoping and even praying for it but after the way they limped into the post season, I had my doubts that they’d even win a game or two against Washington.

Of course, not only did they win a game or two but they won three straight games to oust this seasons President’s Trophy winners in seven games. The look of disbelief on the faces of Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau and Alexander Ovechkin reminded me of those MasterCard commercials…Priceless.

That isn’t to say I don’t like Boudreau or most of the Capitals and I do think Ovechkin is a very talented and exciting player to watch but I was thrilled to see him shutdown by the Habs and sent packing.

Ovechkin plays like a spoiled kid with little respect for the traditions of the game. His on ice celebrations are a slap in the face to his opponents and totally unnecessary. A fist pump, raising your arms in the air or hugging your teammates after a goal is perfectly fine. But there’s no need to go jumping into the glass or jump on the backs of your teammates unless you score the game winner in overtime of a playoff game. That’s something worth getting excited about. I think Ovie may have celebrated a bit too hard during the regular season because he had nothing left in the tank during the first round.

After whipping the Capitals the road didn’t get much easier for Montreal as they had to face Cindy Crosby (not a spelling mistake) and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Just when I thought Crosby had matured as a player and was starting to respect him more, his constant whining, embellishing and complaining to the officials was beyond annoying. Once again, he’s also a player that can be very fun to watch and I’ll be the first to admit; I wanted to kiss him on the lips after he scored in overtime against the U.S. to win the Gold Medal at the Vancouver Olympics, but the incessant bitching when things didn’t go his way was nauseating to watch.

Now I’m not saying that Montreal is a better team on paper than both the Caps and Pens but the Habs did what they needed to in order to secure victories in both seven game series. The key to any underdog having a fighting chance is goaltending and Montreal has had that in abundance. Jaroslav Halak has clearly been the star of these playoffs so far. Just when you think he can’t make a better save, he comes through one more time.

Aside from the goalie, the Montreal defence has gone through injuries, viruses and resorted to calling up a young player from Hamilton of the AHL in P.K. Subban. He has stepped into the injured Markov’s skates and not missed a beat for such a young and inexperienced player. It’s no wonder the fans at the Bell Centre chant his name when he’s on the ice. Hal Gill was a player I yelled at all season. Of course he never heard me since I was only yelling at the TV but you get my point. Gill seemed to make the biggest gaffs in the regular season at the wrong times but this post season, “No Skill Gill” has quickly turned into a puck blocking machine.

Mike Cammalleri has also picked up his game at the right time and currently leads all goal scorers with 12 in the post season.

The Canadiens haven’t advanced this far in the playoffs since 1993 and we all know what happened that year. Will it happen this time around? Only time will tell. One thing is certain… this is a fun time to be a Habs fan.

Ovechkin Mocks Traditions

What happened to the traditions that surrounded hockey? Why does the NHL allow certain players to erode the years of honour that the game and the players who went before spilled blood to create?

Of course, Don Cherry has already touched on this subject on his Hockey Night in Canada Coach's Corner segment. Or as I like to refer to him…Prime Minister elect Don Cherry.

I agree with what he says about the showboating and antics of today's young players, in particular Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals. There is no doubt that he is a very skilled and exciting hockey player to watch and he is good for the game in that regard but for all of the good he does one minute, he quickly erases that immediately after he scores a goal. It's almost as sickening to watch as it is impossible for me to listen to Pierre McGuire do colour commentary.

What bothers me most is the frequency in which these stomach-churning celebrations occur. If it happened only when he scored a record breaking or milestone goal, maybe then I can forgive it. If he scored the Gold medal winning goal at the Olympics or Canada Cup (or whatever they call it now) then fine. If he scores a big goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs I can live with that. But when he does it after every goal it's too much.

Is this what we want young kids to do after scoring a goal in their house league hockey games? They idolize the Russian phenom and the skill he possesses and want to be like him. When they see him scoring a goal and then fist pumping wildly before jumping up against the glass it sends a bad message to these young hockey players. Like it or not he is a role model and as such should be setting a better example.

I have no doubt that Ovechkin loves the game of hockey and loves to score and and that's perfectly fine but you don't need to act like an idiot.

The NHL needs to nip this in the bud now while they can and show they don't condone his actions and that might settle him down. Perhaps a new league rule needs to be implemented where actions like this would be assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Add to that a possible fine by the league, depending on how blatant the act was, and this would also add some weight behind the decision.

I like excitement as much as the next guy but the purest in me thinks this problem is getting out of hand. I'm not saying you can't celebrate a goal with your teammates. By all means, score the goal, raise your arms in the air and then hug or congratulate your fellow team members on the ice. That's the way it should be. We don't need our game to go the way of soccer where players score a goal and go running all over the field jumping and raising their shirts. We don't need to see things like we do in football where players pull a pen out of their sock after scoring a touchdown, sign the ball and give it to a fan.

To me this kind of behaviour not only gives a black eye to the game itself but it is also a slap in the face to the team you're playing against. Ovechkin scored his 50th goal of the season earlier tonight and after it went in he placed his stick on the ice and put his hand over it and pretended that the stick was on fire. Pathetic is the only way to describe that move.

There is one tradition in hockey that I truly believe will one day take care of this if the people in the suits and ties don't. The tough guys will have another incentive to drop the gloves and teach guys like Ovechkin the true meaning of tradition in hockey.

If you missed Don Cherry on Coach's Corner discussing this, please have a look at the video below. The sound quality isn't the best but you'll get the idea.

UPDATE: I believe it to be a Russian website that has found my blog and this story in particular and they have paraphrased it into their site where the Russian hockey fans can leave comments. Even though I'm sure they don't agree with my position, I appreciate the interest and thank them for stopping by. Click here to see the Russian site and here it is Translated if you'd like to have a look.