In our look back at ten memorable goals in Washington
Capitals history, number five comes from Alex Ovechkin, only it is not the one
you might be thinking of. Sure, when you
think of memorable Ovechkin goals, “The Goal” is what immediately springs to
mind. That is not the one we are
thinking of… there is another, one that came just four days after our Memorable Goal number 6.
February 18, 2009 – Alex Ovechkin: “Absolutely Brilliant!”
Mid-week games in the dead of winter do not generally
generate a lot of excitement, and even though it was the Montreal Canadiens
visiting Washington on a Wednesday night in mid-February, one cannot say that
excitement was expected. At least, not
of the sort fans would be treated to in this contest.
The Caps and the Canadiens were going in opposite directions
in the month of February when the Canadiens came calling. Washington was 5-1-1 for the month and found
themselves in their customary standings position atop the Southeast
Division. On the other hand, Montreal
was 2-6-0 for February and had not won a road game in the Eastern Conference in
a month.
This would be the fourth and last game of the season series
between the clubs, a series in which the Caps won two of the first three games,
outscoring the Canadiens overall by a 9-6 margin. There was something of an odd subplot to this
game. Alex Ovechkin faced Montreal seven
times at Verizon Center in his career, and seven times he recorded at least one
point. He was 7-6-13 overall in those
seven games, including a four-goal/five-point performance on January 31, 2008
(his career first hat trick at home), on his way to a 65-goal season.
It was Montreal that would score first less than three
minutes into the contest. With Mike
Green in the box for sending the puck over the glass, Chris Higgins converted
on the ensuing power play. It was the
only score in a first ten minutes that has the teams going back and forth. In those first ten minutes the Caps and
Canadiens split 12 shots on goal down the middle. Montreal had seven shots blocked to three for
the Caps, but Washington had seven missed shots to six for the Canadiens, a
total of 17 shot attempts for Montreal and 16 for the Capitals.
Just as the clock was hitting the 10:00 mark, though, the
excitement level ramped up in a big way.
It started in the Montreal end with defenseman Mike Komisarek looking to
move the puck up and out of the defensive zone to get a line change. He sent the puck diagonally up ice to
teammate Roman Hamrlik and headed to the bench.
The pass was too far for Hamrlik, and seeing the opportunity
to take advantage of the miscue, Alex Ovechkin darted down the center red line
toward the referees’ crease opposite the player benches. As he got to within a
stride of the side boards, in one move he spun counterclockwise and backhanded
the puck off the wall. Now facing up
ice, he darted past Hamrlik to take what amounted to a pass to himself. Kyle Chipchura tried desperately to get back
on the play to cut off Ovechkin’s path to the net, but Ovechkin lowered his
right shoulder into Chipchura as he circled through the left wing circle to the
net. Chipchura could do little but hang
on as Ovechkin closed on goaltender Carey Price, eventually hauling Ovechkin
down to the ice. As Ovechkin reached the
edge of the goal crease sliding on his right hip, he managed to flip a shot at
the net, and by the time he reached the other side of the crease, Ovechkin had
his left arm raised celebrating the goal he scored past Price’s right pad to
tie the game.
It was a goal that the Caps would need in what ended up
being a special teams contest, the Caps scoring a power play goal and allowing
three man-advantage scores by the Canadiens on the way to a 3-3 tie after 60
minutes. After a scoreless overtime, the
Caps would win in the freestyle competition.
It was the Caps’ third straight win and part of what would be a 19-9-3
finish after February 1st that enabled the Caps to finish first in
the Southeast Division and second in the Eastern Conference.
For Ovechkin, the goal was his 42nd of the
season, fifth in three games and ninth in eight games in February on his way to
a 56-goal season and his second straight Maurice Richard Trophy leading the
league in goals.
So, why is this goal memorable and not “The Goal?” It is almost like asking which one is your
favorite Beethoven symphony. There are a
lot to pick from, and there really is not a wrong answer. “The Goal” was an announcement – with a bull
horn into a public address system – of a rookie’s skill and virtuosity. And, even though it was the last goal scored
by the Caps in what was a 6-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes, it showed a
relentless appetite for goal scoring that has fueled Ovechkin’s career for ten
years.
This goal against the Montreal Canadiens was the entire
Ovechkin package, though. There was the
split-second realization of an opportunity – the too-long pass from Komisarek
to Hamrlik – and the absence of hesitation or doubt in pouncing on the
chance. There was the instinct to make
the only play available to him that would yield a scoring opportunity, backhanding
the puck off the boards and chasing it down.
There was the speed to fend off a closing Kyle Chipchura and the strength
to keep his momentum with Chipchura draped all over him as he curled to the
net. There was not giving up on the play,
getting the shot off and beating an up-and-coming goalie in Carey Price.
The context of this goal was important as well. The Caps were closing in on a playoff spot in
this game, while in the January 2006 game in which Ovechkin scored “The Goal,
the Caps were already out of playoff contention, in 14th place in
the Eastern Conference, 16 points behind the New Jersey Devils. The goal against Montreal tied the contest; “The
Goal” was the sixth and last of a 6-1 win over the Phoenix Coyotes. The Caps were playing a Montreal Canadiens
club that was fifth in the East; the 2006 Caps were facing a Phoenix Coyotes
team that ended the season 12th in the Western Conference. When the Caps and Ovechkin faced Phoenix in
2006, they were facing a goalie – Brian Boucher – making only his ninth
appearance of the season. It was the fourth
time in six appearances in which he
played all 60 minutes that he allowed four or more goals. When Ovechkin and the Caps faced Montreal in February
2009, they faced a goalie – Carey Price – who was struggling (he allowed 15
goals on 91 shots in his previous four appearances), but who was being groomed
to assume the number one duties for the Canadiens and who had an 8-0-4 run earlier
in the season.
In the end, it amounts to a distinction without a difference. About the only thing that really distinguishes
these two goals is that the goal scored against Montreal was done in the
friendly confines of Verizon Center where 18,000 fans could share a memorable
goal in person.