Ovechkin, not Crosby, NHL's true king
Posted: Wednesday, April 29, 2009 5:14 PM
As dream matchups go, Alexander Ovechkin against Sidney Crosby in the Stanley Cup playoffs is as good as it gets. It’s every bit the equal of Kobe-LeBron, Peyton Manning-Tom Brady, Batman-Joker.
The NHL has been praying for this collision of its two incandescent young stars to get people to tune into a terrific sport that too often is written off as a bunch of back-tundra goons beating each other up on ice skates. The league has expended considerable time and effort into making Crosby the face of the league, and Ovechkin has spent equal time and effort proving he, not Crosby, is the game’s true king.
So now they have a chance to skate their cases beginning Saturday on NBC in their conference semifinal showdown. And just to make things interesting, Pittsburgh also has Evgeni Malkin, who some people think is actually better than Crosby.
Nobody who watches the game thinks that either one of them are better than Ovechkin, who scores goals in every way imaginable, including flat on his belly and sliding on the ice. And if Crosby and Malkin think Ovechkin is overrated, this is their chance to prove it.
Forget the stereotype about fighting goons. You won’t see much, if any, of that. Fighting isn’t what it used to be in hockey back in the days of the old Broad Street Bullies. And the Stanley Cup playoff games are too important to risk taking major fighting penalties. If you want to see a great sport played at the highest level, watch the Stanley Cup playoffs.
You shouldn’t have to be a die-hard hockey fan to want to see it. It should be enough to know that Alexander “The Great” Ovechkin and Sid “The Kid” Crosby are to Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux what Kobe Bryant and LeBron James are to Magic Johnson and Larry Bird – not just the best in their business right now, but among the best their business has ever seen.
Ovechkin has won the NHL’s goal-scoring title two straight years and could win his second straight MVP award this year. He’s brash and irrepressible and not above celebrating his own brilliance. His exuberance is of the type that rankles old-timers who don’t think real hockey players should carry on like he does after he scores a goal.
Crosby is the opposite, a buttoned-down old-time hockey player who has been openly critical of his Russian rival’s public celebrations. The two don’t like each other, which makes the matchup that much more delicious to the fans.
I’d watch the playoffs no matter who’s playing. Hockey at its best is as exciting as sports get, a combination of blinding speed, incredible grace and violent collisions. If you don’t get VERSUS, which will carry all but the first game of the series, hie thee to a sports bar and demand that they put the game on.
Believe me, you won’t be disappointed.
