Alex Ovechkin is known for scoring goals (my personal favorite, which was nearly replicated by a Penguins prospect), but the Washington Capitals superstar is so fun to watch because he’s also perfectly willing to throw his body around for a big check. It’s one of those things that made you believe that maybe he’d wear down, yet that Russian Machine Never Breaks.
Montreal Canadiens forward Jonathan Drouin received a painful reminder that you need to keep your head on a swivel when Ovechkin’s on the ice, as the Capitals winger leveled Drouin with a huge hit on Friday.
It wouldn’t be surprising if Drouin was shaken up almost as much by the second impact:
SMOKED. pic.twitter.com/9eMP5QD0K3
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) November 16, 2019
Drouin left immediately for the locker room, but he’s taken some shifts afterward, so he might be OK ... we’ll have to see.
There’s at least some debate about the legality of the hit, for what it’s worth:
How does someone launch themselves AFTER contact? Watch hit in slo motion, OV was clearly airborne before contact. https://t.co/Hv6FFhBOe0
— Allan Walsh🏒 (@walsha) November 16, 2019
Sometimes big hits like that light a fire under teams. Maybe Ovechkin was hoping it would do so for Washington, but instead Montreal might channeled that anger into getting even on the scoreboard, as they rattled off a 4-0 lead in response, and ended up winning 5-2.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.