Trotz: Alex Ovechkin was focused, not vengeful in Game 5
In a strict physical sense, Nazem Kadri only momentarily removed Alex Ovechkin from Game 5 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Washington Capitals when he drove his hip into the superstar sniper’s extended knee, and left him tumbling to the ice.
What Kadri did succeed in doing, however, at least through the eyes of select Maple Leafs, was throwing Ovechkin off his game once he returned at the start of the second (and had recharged with a can of cola).
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But while the Leafs saw a vengeful opponent struggling to maintain focus, Capitals coach Barry Trotz picked up on the opposite.
He saw total engagement from his captain.
“Go back to the tape, watch how he played,” Trotz said in his media availability ahead of Game 6, denying that Ovechkin’s emotions hijacked his performance. “I don’t think he looked too unfocused. He looked pretty driven. That’s the greatness of Alex.”
Trotz added: “They can say what they want, he’s on his game right now.”
Trotz indicated that Ovechkin’s response to the contentious hit, and the “look in his eye,” was a primary reason why the captain saw an uptick in ice time in Game 5. Ovechkin logged nearly 20 minutes in the 2-1 win after averaging under 16 in Game 3 and 4 in Toronto.
This minutes increase, however, wouldn’t result in a considerable uptick in events. Ovechkin finished with three shots on goal on five attempts and had already taken two prior to the Kadri hit. That’s not a particularly menacing output, considering the fact that Ovechkin led all NHL forwards in shot attempts this season and finished with 100 more than Vladimir Tarasenko, the next greatest volume shooter.
Ovechkin’s goal streak ended up being snapped at three games.
Instead, what did seem to multiply was Ovechkin’s overall aggression. He committed at least two documented jabs with the end of his stick, with one delivered to Matt Martin and another placed under Kadri’s ribcage, and also finished with a team-high six hits, though that wouldn’t be considered out of the ordinary.
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Of course, with hours before puck drop on Game 6, where Ovechkin’s focus was in a game the Capitals won is completely irrelevant.
The bottom line remains that the Maple Leafs missed out on a wonderful opportunity to steal a second game in Washington, and now must win on home ice on Sunday night to prolong their season.
That, we assume, will be the only focus.
