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Ovechkin Puts On A Show As Caps Drill Bolts

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By ERIK ERLENDSSON

eerlendsson@tampatrib.com

Published: March 20, 2009

TAMPA - Washington superstar Alex Ovechkin represents the new breed of hockey players who play the game with a whole lot of skill mixed in with nearly as much pizzazz.

Thursday, the Lightning hoped the game was still played old school.

Ovechkin scored his league-leading 50th goal of the season in Washington's 5-2 victory, but his skill wasn't the topic of conversation after the game so much as the flair in which he celebrated the accomplishment.

After Ovechkin skated around Matt Pettinger at the Lightning blue line, he darted inside and fired a wrist shot from the top of the circle past the glove hand of rookie goaltender Mike McKenna 7:43 into the game. Ovechkin circled to the other side of the net, dropped his stick to the ice and waved his hands and fingers over it as if it was too hot to touch, a ploy that was preplanned.

"Me, Jose Theodore, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green said if I score goal, Jose tell me just put the stick on the ice and try like it's so hot," said Ovechkin, who joined Teemu Selanne as the only active players with three 50-goal seasons. "Backie stopped and Greenie stopped, so I have to do it myself."

Lightning interim coach Rick Tocchet said if that kind of a soccer-like celebration had happened during his playing days, the first period would have turned into a three-hour affair.

"I think he's a top-notch player, but he went down a notch in my book after that," he said. "It's hard for me to accept, to see that in our building."

That sentiment was shared by some of the veteran players in the locker room.

"He's a fun player to watch, but to do that to a team . . . I mean, we've had better days and there's no need to embarrass us and embarrass Mac McKenna like that," said right wing Marty St. Louis, who scored his 27th goal in the second period.

Ryan Malone took it closer to heart.

"He is the game's most dominant scorer, but to do that, especially on our ice, I took it as an insult, personally," Malone said. "It's embarrassing, this isn't football. I know it's his 50th goal ..."

Of Tampa Bay's remaining 11 games this season, two will come against Washington, including a meeting next week at the Verizon Center, and the subject of Ovechkin's celebration isn't likely to fade from memory in the near future.

"I don't mind the spontaneous celebrations, but that kind of stuff is ... I don't even know the word for it," said Lightning center Jeff Halpern, who served as Washington's captain during Ovechkin's rookie season. "It's up to our team to do something about it."

Ovechkin understands there will be plenty of backlash for his antics, especially from hockey icon Don Cherry who is a critic of the enthusiastic Russian star.

"Oh yeah, he's going to be ticked off for sure. I love it," Ovechkin said. "I can't wait till he says something about me. Old coaches, old system, you know?"

This from a new-school star.

Reporter Erik Erlendsson can be reached at (813) 259-7853.

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