From the Caps' locker room

I love Ovechkin, great quote!!
I'm going down to San Jose to see him put some hurt on the Sharks

Just back from the game. Really a fun game to be at. The difference between this year and last year is so obvious - great Puck possession, defensive positioning, winning the battles in the corner. Even without the scoring It is SO FUN TO WATCH. Kopi is due to break out any time now anyway. I really think that Murray has to call Ersberg #1 now. He just does not allow second chances. Bernier who?

Anyway, I'm incredibly optimistic about this team. Cant wait for the game on Saturday.

GO KINGS

Ovechkin is full of doody. He practically punched brown in the head...

some of the pundits aside, there is no question that this team plays harder than last years' squad. and that it is much better coached than last years' squad.

its easy to skate around and do nothing but score goals. it takes a huge commitment by everyone on the team to limit your opponents to 24 shots/game over the first 18 games of the season. that's #1 in the league and remarkable over last year. our pk is 4th in the league. we were dead last in 07-08. again, remarkable.

cry all you want about the miniscual points that aren't "perfect" like who's on this line and who's not on that line, blah, blah, blah. scoreboard people. 8-8-2. there might even have been a couple of people that thought we would not get to 8 wins until january. this team is light years' ahead of where anyone thought we would be. and, we've lost a couple of games that we had and blew. tm is doing a great job coaching these guys and dl has done a good job in putting this team together the right way with the right talent.

" I didn't hit him, he hit my ear. Just a guess, and I'll watch the replay."

I wonder what he has to say after watching the replay. You 'gotta love him though. I wish Kopi hits like Ovechkin w/out the dirty plays... Okay maybe a little dirty play every now and then especially against the ducks wouldn't hurt.

Strange schedule. The Rangers have played 22 games and the Blues only 16. Doesn't make sense that there be that big of a discrepancy.

The game was kicked off 1150 AM radio for college basketball, so I listened on my laptop. Hockey gets no respect in LA. I love listening to Nick and Darryl. They do a great job.

Been to two games and have not seen one King's goal. Looks like that might be changing.

(Re: Hit by Brown): I didn't hit him, he hit my ear. Just a guess, and I'll watch the replay, but I think he didn't see me, I went to the net and turned around and was hit.

What hit by Brown?

I'll watch the replay [to see if they picked up that I was aiming for his head.]

On one replay angle it looked as if Brown's helmet connected with Ovechkin's ear, consistent with Ovechkin having his head turned sideways and not looking where he was going. Had he been looking where he was going, he would have known that he was about to illegally check Dustin Brown with his ear.

Something interesting - Ovechkin has scored against all but three teams. The Kings are one of them. The other two? Minnesota and San Jose. Hope he scores in his next two games (which are against Min and SJ) so we can claim to be the only team :]

I really like this team.

Ovechkin is no doubt a great player, but he can be a total punk. He totally went after Brownie, got called for interference and got hurt to boot. There was a great shot on the scoreboard video screen of Brownie reacting to Ovechkin jawing at him, by shouting a great big "F-you" back at him.
BTW Ovechkin: Minus-4 (hahahaha)
Great win boyz!!
GO KINGS!!

-4?

Wow, considering he had an assist, that means he was out on the ice for all 5 Kings goals.

anyone have a link to the brown hit/score?

Does anyone think that Ovechkin was going with the Chris Foster sloppy look with that beard?

Doughty 1- Ovechkin 0 GO KINGS GO !

Ovechkin is frighteningly talented and has an admirable nasty streak. However, that hit on Brown was an intentional blow to the head and deserves some league action.

I would love to think that Ovechkin either accidentally ran into Brown or Brown hit him or Ovechkin tried to run Brown and instead ended up on the ice all dizzy and needed smelling salts etc.., but I really don't think that's a reasonable interpretation.

Does anyone else think (real question here) that Ovechkin took a run at Brown, intentionally going for the head, and then tried to make it look like either an accidental collision or (hilariously) Brown trying to hit him, faked being hurt on the ice, and made a show of it by asking for smelling salts, knowing that there was a good chance he was either going to get a penalty (which he did get) or that he might have overdone it and could get a suspension (which I think should happen)?

Because I think that's exactly what happened. And it makes Ovechkin, well, kind of insane.

Totally agree, Quisp. I looked in vain for how/when Ovie got hit on the head. A Phantom Hit. This guy should be throwing boxing matches.

I found Ovechkin to be incredibly cocky and arrogant all night. This quote about Brown hitting him is another perfect example. I think the guy is most definitely the best player in the NHL but I lost a ton of respect for him tonight. He most definitely took a run at Brown and hit him up high, and then tried for the academy award with the he hit my ear act afterwards. I was so glad to see how frustrated the Kings made him and the caps tonight. Let's crush Colorado on Saturday and get another win streak going! Go kings go!

Honestly, you ask Quisp? I'll tell you this honestly ... whatever Ovechkin (who incidentally astounds me jealously with his talent) is smoking - I wish he'd pass it on over.

I watched frame-by-frame, from 3 angles shown, including all the play leading up to it from the opposite end. He got what he deserved 200%.

(Did he really say "He hit my ear"? "He hit my ear"?!?!?!)

Ovechkin intentionally took the run at Brown, and payed for it. I do give him credit for trying to get things going for his team, however. That's the type of player he is, plays all aspects of the game. Brown knows it, the Kings know it, and fans knows it.

After many times viewing the play if Ovechkin didn't see Brown why was his hand up way before they met?

Next year when we play instead of having a Russian Appreciation night lets have a good ole "AMERICAN BASH"

I'm going to take the Brown incident and comment not on this individual battle, but the overall battle. What I see is a defense and a team that play together and quite frankly just frustrate the hell out of the other team. They're defense has improved so much, they're able to frustrate good teams and the best player in hockey. That to me is incredible!!! What's even more impressive is that the d-man are not that good(skill wise) but TM's scheme and teaching abilities are outstanding.

Offense I'm still a little concerned about, but I'll hold off a few more games before I vent.

He was hit in the ear and doubled over in pain like that? Nice show. I think the best part was when he was skating to the bench like he had drawn a penalty and the ref was talking to him and pointing to the box. The look on his face was priceless. Then when David Courtney repeated it...hilarious.

I would have liked to see his response if asked about the rookie that robbed him in the third. Dreeeeeew.

I have to apologize to RIch and Jill. I had a post deleted, I think, for profanity. It was great to see Brown's reaction to Ovechkin and after scoring the goal, though.

Not to excuse myself because I shouldn't have used the f word, but it's funny how it seems almost more taboo now than years ago. I remember after Larry Holmes and Jerry Cooney fought an epic heavy weight bout which Holmes won despite a horrifying low-blow by Cooney, in the LA Times the next day Holmes was quoted as saying something to the effect of: "I won't be able to f my wife tonight" and as a kid I was shocked that it was spelled out right there on the front page. Have we gotten more prudish or more responsible? I don't know.

But sorry for ruining a good comment with my profanity. That was a great game and great competitiveness from Brown, though.

It made for a great show (the so called injury to Ovechkin. I think that he was doing a wonderful acting job. We have all seen it from Selanne, Turco, and yes, back in the day even Gretzky was a big whiner. The thing is, when things are not going your team's way, sometimes it works, griping to the ref. about so-called infractions he didn't see. Sometimes they call another borderline penalty soon after just to make up for whatever they "missed."

Ovie was just trying everything to win which earns my respect, and Brownie won all of the battles which is totally awesome. Anyway I got to see Ovie beat down the Ducks the night before. What could be better?

It seemed to me that Brown inadvertently clipped Ovie with his skate (or perhaps his stick) when he got upended. I don't think Ovechkin was faking an injury, as some of these posts have implied.

JonG - from the numerous replays, in my opinion, it was a clash of heads that cut Ovechkin's ear, not Brown's skate. The replay from behind the goal line CLEARLY shows Ovechkin looking at Brown and leaning in to try and shoulder him in the head. If this guy's name weren't Ovechkin, he'd be going before the League for a 10 game suspension. It was an attack on a player's head (the team captain no less) who was nowhere near the puck. I'm a homer, but Brown get's the boot for a clean check on Ribeiro but Ovechkin only gets 2 minutes for interference FOR THAT? I actually think the referee saw the entire thing to really make it an insult.
Dirty dirty play, in my mind.

Ovechkin is full of ship.

EatTheRich,

Thanks for the info. I didn't see the replay from behind the goal line.