Larry Brown Sports

The only thing worse than taking a puck to the face and gashing your chin open during a game is taking a puck to the face and gashing your chin open during practice. Alex Ovechkin could attest to that, although the Washington Capitals star seemed to take it quite well.

According to the Washington Post, Ovechkin took a puck to the face during Thursday’s practice and had to leave to get it stitched up. As you can see from the photo above, Ovie shared a couple of pictures of the injury on his Twitter account. That one was after he received 22 stitches. This is the before, which was captioned “It’s hockey hahaha.”

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Alex Ovechkin was so bored with the NHL lockout that he decided to get engaged. Just kidding — I’m sure Ovie loves his tennis star girlfriend Maria Kirilenko very much, which is why he decided to pop the question on the last day of 2012.

Ovechkin tweeted the photo you see above on Monday before making the following announcement:

We are engaged !!!!!!! )))))))))

— Alex Ovechkin (@ovi8) December 31, 2012

Good for him. The two have been dating for over a year now (more pictures of Kirilenko here). The people of Washington, D.C. may not be enthused because they don’t seem to like Ovechkin very much anymore, but the engagement gives us something to talk about regarding an NHL player. With the way things have gone with the lockout, those moments aren’t easy to come by.

H/T Eye on Hockey

When Alex Ovechkin first broke into the league with the Capitals back in 2005, visions of Stanley Cup championships were dancing through the heads of Washington fans. Ovechkin dominated the league in scoring for several years, but recently it seems as though he has started to wear out his welcome. His production has been down and he has not been able to lead the Capitals to a championship in seven seasons. For those reasons and others, Ovechkin was recently named the “Worst Local Athlete” by readers of the Washingtonian.

As you can see from the photo above that Dan Steinberg of D.C. Sports Bog shared with us, the blurb under Ovechkin’s dishonorable mention reminds readers that he was voted the area’s local hero just a year ago. My how things can change in a hurry.

With all the struggles Washington teams like the Redskins and Nationals have faced in recent years, the voting reflects how situations like this one have resulted in Ovechkin’s image taking a huge hit. He may be talented, but the bottom line is he’s not very likable at the moment.

The Capitals may have beaten the Bruins 2-1 to tie their first-round playoff series at two, but Alex Ovechkin was the big loser for this embarrassing moment. Ovechkin was trying to hop over the boards during a line change, but it looks like he lost his concentration, along with his balance, and tumbled over. The hits keep coming for Ovi, who has only scored one goal in the series.

The Alex Ovechkin vs. Sidney Crosby debate has been on the back burner for much of this season with Ovechkin having a down year and Crosby sidelined most of the campaign with lingering concussion symptoms. But that didn’t stop Winnipeg Jets fans in attendance for Friday’s contest against the Capitals from invoking Crosby’s name to get in Ovechkin’s head.

Ovechkin, who was also subjected to constant booing and an “Ovi sucks” chant, actually enjoyed the jeers, as it turns out.

“It’s always nice when they talk about you and then get the chants. I love it,” Ovi told The Washington Times. “It’s great for the league, it’s great for us.

“Everybody thinks who’s better, who’s not. For me, it’s nice atmosphere and I love that kind of stuff.”

The Jets went on to win the game, 3-2, and Ovechkin finished with zero points. Meanwhile, Crosby had two assists in his most recent game on Thursday. So, blame Ovi’s mom.

Kudos to Puck Daddy for the video
Photo credit: Bruce Fedyck, US Presswire

By his own standards, Alex Ovechkin has not played well over the last two years. In his first five NHL seasons, Ovechkin scored 46 or more goals and had over 100 points four times. Last season, he scored only 32 goals and had 85 total points. He is on a similar pace this season, having netted only 27 goals and tallying 24 assists in 65 games. The question is why? In an in-depth piece about Ovie’s struggles, the Washington Post speculates that his mother may have something to do with it.

When you ask those whom Ovechkin trusts most, the name most likely to come up first is Tatiana Ovechkin, his mother, a former athlete herself who lost another son at an early age. Ovechkin and his mother cling tightly to one another, and both the player’s parents shuttle back and forth from Russia to Washington. Ovechkin still spends much of his offseasons in Moscow. Those who know Ovechkin say his mother exerts considerable influence — good and bad — on her son’s life.

“That’s his biggest problem — his mom,” said a person familiar with the situation. “She did what she did for Alex. She played a huge part in his growth, in his career. But it went too far. I understand it’s family, I understand they’re very close — it’s not that. The question is: Is he ever going to grow up? I’m not only talking about hockey. She’s in his life in many other areas — relationships with girls, with friends, with everyone. It’s bizarre.”

Another source familiar with the Ovechkin family said their obsession with money has distanced him from his teammates in the locker room, claiming that no matter how much money Alex earns it’s “not enough” for the family. A number of theories have been tossed around as to why Ovechkin’s play has slid over the past couple seasons. Some say he has a poor relationship with the team while others speculate he once used performance-enhancing drugs and is no longer on them. Whatever the case may be, the “mommy won’t let me grow up” theory is by far the most unusual.

Thanks to Eye on Hockey for passing the story along

Alex Ovechkin is currently serving a three-game suspension for a hit against Pittsburgh’s Zbynek Michalek that the NHL deemed illegal. Whether he deserves the suspension or not has become overshadowed by Ovechkin’s decision to skip the NHL All-Star game this weekend. Under the current rules, a suspended player is allowed to participate in the All-Star game festivities. However, Ovechkin has decided that since he is suspended he will stamp his feet and voluntarily extend the suspension to cover the exhibition as well.

“My heart is not there,” Ovechkin said according to the Washington Post. “I got suspended, so why I have to go there?”

For most players, taking part in the All-Star game isn’t a chore. Many of the fans want him there because he is one of the game’s best talents, but apparently this is Alex’s way of trying to punish the NHL for their decision.  Fans and players around the league have not taken kindly to the decision.  Here is what St. Louis Blues forward Andy McDonald had to say about it on Twitter:

McDonald is right, and I like the way he included Ovechkin’s Twitter handle in the tweet so he can’t be accused of saying it “behind his back.”  In the world of social media, an @ mention qualifies as saying it to someone’s face. What a childish move by one of the game’s biggest stars.