One Play, Two Points of View

Earlier today, the Washington Capitals defeated the Chicago Blackhakws, 4-3, in overtime.  But the incident that has tongues a-wagging and keyboards a-clacking is the hit by Alex Ovechkin on Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell.  On the one hand, it was an incidental hit -- a "hockey play" -- that merely had an unfortunate result.  On the other, it was a premeditated attempt at injury that was borderline felonious.  We've obtained exclusive footage (ok, screen shots from the NBC feed) of the sequence of events, and commentary from each side of the debate...

OK, here is Campbell getting control of the puck at the Chicago blue line, and there is Ovechkin doing what he's supposed to do as the first man in on the forecheck -- go after the puckcarrier.

What you see here is Brian Campbell in open ice about to get control of the puck and start the other way.  Unbeknown to him, there is lurking in his wake -- like the merciless Great White Shark (no coincidence he's wearing a white jersey, better to camouflage himself) -- Alex Ovechkin drawing a bead on his unsuspecting prey.

* * * * *

Here is Campbell tracking down the puck sliding through the faceoff circle.  Ovechkin is skating after him to force Campbell to make a quick decision of what to do with the puck, which is what you want the player to do in that instance.  Duncan Keith is quietly thinking, "uh-oh..."

Here is Campbell, skating after the puck while Ovechkin has locked onto his target, fully armed and ready to inflict maximum damage.  Duncan Keith is like the Secret Service agent walking along with the limousine in Dallas, powerless to prevent what is about to happen a mere feet in front of him.

* * * * *

Campbell is sweeping the puck to the side boards, leaving it for Duncan Keith, but his body is blocking Ovechkin's view.  Ovechkin can't be sure Campbell doesn't have the puck.

Campbell is sweeping the puck to the side boards, thinking his role in this play is over for the time being.  But he cannot know the malice that lurks in the beating heart of Ovechkin as his prey lies vulnerable to what is about to unfold.

* * * * *

Campbell turns away from his pass, taking him into the path of Ovechkin and leaving him in no position to fend off a collision.  He is leaning into the play, precariously perched in such a fashion that perhaps the slightest nudge will knock him off his skates entirely.  Antti Niemi appears to be shouting "LOOK OUT," but Campbell not understanding Finnish, thinks he is saying "NICE PASS."

Campbell is circling away from the puck, no longer a part of the play, but Ovechkin trains his sights on him, determined to finish the kill shot.  Goalie Antti Niemi can only watch helplessly as the assassination takes place.

* * * * *

Ovechkin makes contact with Campbell, who is still leaning in the opposite direction from the pass he made, leaving him unable to brace himself from any hit that might come.  Duncan Keith is quietly thinking, "yup...uh-oh."

The kill shot -- Ovechkin delivers his 235 pounds of mayhem directly to the numbers of Campbell, a shot from which Campbell has no hope of recovering.  Duncan Keith is spellbound by the horror unfolding.

* * * * *

Unable to brace himself from contact, Campbell falls forward awkwardly, landing in the end boards shoulder first.  Ovechkin is not in what one might think of as the sort of stance that would indicate a desire to drive the player into the boards.

Ovechkin is leering over his target, completing the kill shot.  Our Russian is bad, but one could almost hear him freakishly shrieking, "DIE BLACKHAWK SCUM...DIE!!!"  Or maybe, "oops..."  Like we said, our Russian is bad.

* * * * * 

Ovechkin is trying to avoid the fallen Campbell, who he knows has taken a bad fall. 

Ovechkin is about to provide the piece-de-resistance, trying to cut Campbell in two with his skate as he passes over him.  The Morton's the Steakhouse advertisement provides one last bit of cruel irony, for Ovechkin has just feasted on the carcass of Brian Campbell in one of the most dastardly displays of on-ice violence in the history of the sport.

* * * * * 

We do not mean to make light of an injury -- it is never a trivial matter.  It's just that in the last eight hours or so we have read some strange reactions to it.  From, "what's the big deal?" to "When is the date for execution?"  We are inclined to think the play was justly penalized, but whether it merited the five-minute major and game misconduct, we're not entirely in agreement with that. 

Looking at it, there is the hit, and there is the effect. What Ovechkin did was not an especially egregious play, physically. He pushed Campbell. In open ice, Campbell gets up and skates away. It’s the circumstance — Campbell was vulnerable and had no opportunity to brace himself for a full-on hit into the boards. And that led to the unfortunate effect.

This isn’t Ovechkin trailing Campbell and running his head into the boards (or, to repeat the verb one wag I saw using on Twitter, Campbell was "rammed" into the boards). It was a shove. The effect was much greater than the hit.

Is Ovechkin to blame? That’s a tough call. In real time, does a player have time to process an answer to the question, “should I hit this guy?” When Ovechkin shoved Daniel Briere into the Sabres' bench door frame a couple of years ago, you could fault Ovechkin for that. To me, this is a much tougher call. Campbell had just played the puck (although it was well off his stick when Ovechkin made contact).

If Ovechkin is suspended, I think I will be able to understand the reasoning, even if I don't agree with it.  But on its face it is not a clear cut call and perhaps merely one player getting into an unfortunate position based on the play he made.  Not to make it Campbell's fault, not at all; he made the smart play there.  But at the speed of this game, even the smart play -- or something as simple as a shove -- can have unfortunate results.