Alexander Ovechkin tries to crash Rangers’ morning skate
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Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin might get away with acting like a crazy, two-bladed Canadian tourist during the All-Star Game skills competition, but there’s little room for joking around when it comes to playoff hockey.
Ovechkin, whose team trails the New York Rangers, 2-0, in their best-of-seven playoff series, was booted out of the Rangers’ morning skate session after a trainer noticed him sitting on the visiting team’s bench, reports ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun.
After getting the old heave-ho, Ovechkin jokingly said the Rangers wanted him gone “because they’re afraid of me.” He then joked he did it to “tick off” Rangers Coach John Tortorella.
Tortorella, who has a reputation as a no-nonsense kind of coach, indicated he didn’t know about Ovechkin’s visit until after practice. It’s safe to say he wasn’t thrilled about it.
“Ask me a question about the game, not that ... “
The Capitals public relations crew spun the incident off as a joke, saying Ovechkin was merely “looking for a place to relax.”
Something tells me the Russian jokester wasn’t just looking for some rink-side shut-eye. With his team trailing in the series, Ovechkin was probably hoping to pick up a thing or two before lacing on the skates for tonight’s Game 3.
Still, you have to hand it to Ovechkin for trying -- maybe next time he can disguise himself a little better with something like this:
-- Austin Knoblauch
