Caps, Ovechkin Need to Soul Search

During the past three seasons at the NHL trade deadline, the Washington Capitals were looking to add depth for a Stanley Cup playoff  push.

But this year, the Caps were in the strange position looking to make a move just to secure a playoff spot.

Inside of pulling the trigger on a big move, Caps GM George McPhee pulled a surprise by making no notable trades at all.

The four-time Southeast Division champs, expected to contend for Lord Stanley's Cup, would not make the hockey's postseason if it started today. Washington sits in ninth place. 

There is not just one reason for the Capitals fall, they've been hit hard by injuries. But captain Alex Ovechkin has a big role in their fall from top.

Ovie is having a career-worst season and his poor attitude on ice is affecting the team's chemistry. Ovechkin's struggles started early and was benched at the end of a game by former coach Bruce Boudreau.

The captain's 'C' generally goes to a team's best player, who also happens to be a leader in the locker room. Face it, Ovechkin has not lived up to leadership role and should probably lose his captaincy.

Unfortunately, the man most likely to take that 'C,' Nicklas Backstrom is out long-term with a concussion.

There's a good chance Washington will sneak into the playoffs, but the team has serious discrepancies that won't easily get fixed without a serious roster shakeup.

Star Power Is Alive on the NHL Ice

There's growing chatter from many sports columnists that the NHL is suffering from a star crisis.

They believe the NHL lacks true superstars.

But it certainly didn't seem that way at Sunday's All-Star game in Ottawa.

From Evgeni Malkin to Pavel Datsyuk to Marian Hossa, the game's top talent showcased amazing skills and athleticism. All three of players were vying for the league's scoring title at the break.

Sidney Crosby has been wearing
a different type of suit this year.

But the league's two "household" names did not play. Sidney Crosby's career has been derailed by concussions, while Alex Ovechkin is having his worst season in his career and sat home amid a suspension.

Often the only measuring stick used when gauging greatness is titles, and that's where today's stars come up short.

The salary cap put into place in 2005 to help hockey leveled the playing field. In the six years of the post-NHL lockout, 10 different teams have played for Lord Stanley's Cup and there have been six champions.

That's a far cry from the dominance of the Montreal Canadiens in the 70's, the New York Islanders and Wayne Gretzky's Edmonton Oilers in the 80's and the Detroit Red Wings in the 90's.

This topic probably would not even being discussed if the NHL got even a smidgen of coverage from ESPN, the 800-pound gorilla of sports media.

From the week of Jan. 7-16, ESPN covered the NHL less than Major League Baseball which is in the deep doldrums of the off-season. And all of most mentioned athletes were from either the NFL and NBA.

ESPN just ignores hockey and its stars, it is as simple as that. Without the Worldwide Leader constantly promoting its athletes, causal fans don't have a player and team to tune in for.

The NHL is a niche league, and for its diehard fans there is no star shortage.

Thanks for the Memories, Igloo

In this modern day of sports arenas, anything that's been around a decade is old. Any building five decades old is essentially the equivalent of the Egyptian Pyramids.

That's why the iconic Civic Arena, more affectionately known as the Igloo, is coming down piece by piece in Pittsburgh.

The arena opened in 1961 and the Penguins took ownership of the dome when they joined the NHL six years later.

Demolition of Civic Arena has been ongoing for sometime, but with the insides gutted, crews took a bigger step on Saturday. One of the many roof panels was demolished.



If the weather holds up, KDKA in Pittsburgh reports the remaining steel structure will come down in a month.

The Igloo was really the house Mario Lemieux built. In fact it's address was 66 Mario Lemieux Place. Now as owner, Lemieux helped orchestrate the building of the Pen's new home, the Consol Energy Center.

Three championship banners were raised in the building, but the only time the Stanley Cup was lifted, it was when Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom hoisted it above his head.

It's sad to see an icon fall, but thanks for all the memories.

NHL Star Catching Flap for 'Pancakegate'

Professional athletes hurt themselves in a lot of bizarre ways. Like when pitcher John Smoltz scalded himself while ironing a shirt - while he was wearing it.

But a hockey player sat out a game this week may take the cake, the pancake that is.

Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Penner suffered back spasms while taking a bite of "delicious pancakes." Of course Penner has been the joke of the NHL, even earning a Twitter hashtag: #pennercakes.

Penner wrote a letter about what happened, which was printed in Kings blog Mayors Manor.

"They were vegetarian pancakes," Penner wrote. "The injury happened as I was sitting down to eat, not mid-bite. And yes. I did finish them."

Penner seems to be taking it all in stride. He's actually going to sponsor a 'Pancakes with Penner' charity fundraiser.

Guess in this case, the flapjacks are off the hook.

How’s That for Making Love, Not War

Richard Lam captured proof that not everyone was tearing apart Vancouver following the Canucks pitiful loss in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup.

The image of a couple stealing a smooch amid chaos of riots has garnered lots of attention.

While a picture is worth a thousand words, it can also be deceiving. What looked like a romantic embrace was something else entirely, it was a moment of terror.

As the Toronto Star reports the couple, Scott Jones and Alexandra Thomas, got knocked down by a surge of police in riot gear. Just so happened that as Scott was trying to console and calm Alexandra down, a photographer caught the moment on tape.

But no matter the reason, this image has a shot at standing the test of time.

Who Says Hockey Doesn't Matter

Thousands of people gathered Wednesday in downtown Vancouver hoping to watch their Canucks hoist its first every Stanley Cup in 40 years of existence.

As the national anthems were playing, huge banners were hanging inside Rogers Arena with a simple message: "This is what we live for."

As the game ended in an anti-climatic 4-0 thumping at the hands of the Boston Bruins, Vancouver fans turned violent. Hockey really is what they live for north of the border.

The mostly young group of Canuck overturned vehicles and set fire in the blocks around Rogers Arena. The surreal rioting scene capped off one of the strangest and dirtiest Stanley Cup finals in recent memory.

Boston's Nathan Horton and Vancouver's Mason Raymond had their season end prematurely in dirty plays, and a new rule was created to keep players from thrusting their fingers at one another.

In the end the series was determined by Bruins goalie Tim Thomas standing on his head. Thomas, who plays an unorthodox and rather ugly style of net-minding, set the NHL record for most saves in playoff history.

Despite the ugliness, Vancouver which proved its world class hosting the Olympics, will recover.

While the rioting was likely an excuse for drunk, young idiots to go crazy, Canada hasn't had a team raise Lord Stanley's Cup since 1993. You can't say that doesn't bother them.

Revenge is sweeter

I couldn't help but revel in the scenes of people jamming every inch of downtown Pittsburgh today to celebrate their Stanley Cup champion Penguins.

Facing ridiculous odds after falling in the series 0-2, facing the overwhelming task of trying to win a NHL championship on the road, the Pens beat the champs earning the right to be called champs.

Last Friday night the aura of the Detroit Red Wings was smashed, we learned they could be human. But that's just one story line in the wake of a shocking final result.

Much of the credit for the Penguins win doesn't belong with Sidney Crosby (youngest captain to hoist the Cup) or Evgeni Malkin (playoffs MVP), but with maligned goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

Doubts lingered large about Fleury's ability to win the big game after he was chased in Game 5, even I was skeptical. But Fleury bounced back, making a series saving stop on a breakaway from Detroit's Dan Cleary in the next game. And in what could be a lasting image from Game 7, Fleury made a sprawling save on Nicklas Lindstrom to seal the Cup.

Fleury is not perfect, but he is a redeemed goalie and has justified himself with this win as a No. 1 overall pick.

What makes this Stanley Cup particularly sweet as a fan, was seeing Cup chasing winger Marian Hossa end up on the losing side. 

After being an integral part of the Penguins finals run last year, Hossa spurned Pittsburgh. He decided to sign a lucrative one-year offer with Detroit, because he felt the defending champion Red Wings had a better chance to repeat than the Penguins.

Hossa was nearly invisible in the finals (zero goals, just three assists) but claims no regret in picking the losers over the winners. 

"Regret? I don't regret it," Hossa said to the press after Game 7. "We could sit here for hours and have a discussion on it. But I do not regret my decision."

For now all Hossa has left is to ponder how close he was to raising Lord Stanley's Cup, again.

For 375,000 Penguin fans that lined up to see the Cup there's nothing left to ponder. Party on Pittsburgh!