Caps 2, Buffalo Sabres 0
Good night all around as everyone heads out for a Thanksgiving Day holiday – other than that whole Alex Ovechkin getting ejected thing. Obviously, no word on any fine/suspension for Ovechkin. But if referee Paul Devorski was so adament that the boarding penalty deserved a game misconduct you’d have to think a fine is possible. Ovechkin was hit for $2,500 last month for a slew-foot on Atlanta’s Rich Peverley. Here’s what Rule 42 in the official NHL Rulebook says about a boarding call:
“There is an enormous amount of judgement involved in the application of this rule by the Referee. The onus is on the player applying the check to ensure his opponent is not in a vulnerable position and if so, he must avoid the contact. However, there is also a responsibility on the player with the puck to avoid placing himself in a dangerous and vulnerable position. This balance must be considered by the Referees when applying this rule.”
An additional note: “When a major penalty is imposed under this rule for a foul resulting in an injury to the face or head of an opponent, a game misconduct shall be imposed.”
Now, the Caps would argue a major penalty should not have been called in the first place. But once it was and Patrick Kaleta came up with a bloody nose all discretion goes out the window. We’ll see what happens. But the Caps do have a game at Montreal on Saturday. Just guessing here – but I’m pretty sure they’d like Ovechkin to play in that one.
Other notes:
» The Caps are now 14-5-6 and have 34 points. Buffalo dropped to 12-7-2 with 26 points. The Sabres are now 0-3-1 in their last four after a strong start to the season.
» Caps F David Steckel was an absurd 14-1 on faceoffs Wednesday night, including nine of 10 wins in the third period.
» Ovechkin’s goal was his 17th of the season. The Caps are 8-0-3 when he scores.
» Mike Green extended his point streak to eight games. He is the only player in the NHL with two streaks this year of at least eight games. Green’s 25 points are tied for the league lead among NHL defensemen and he leads the Caps in scoring in November (12 points in 10 games). Green has 22 assists and is on pace to break the Caps record for assists by a defenseman (61 by Scott Stevens).
» For the second game in a row the Caps didn’t commit a penalty in the first two periods and then were hit with three in the third period.
» Eric Fehr scored his fourth goal of the season – all coming in the last 11 games.
» Brendan Morrison has nine points in his last 10 games after his assist on Fehr’s goal.
