Yesterday, Alexander Ovechkin participated in a brief conference call with members of the media. The primary topic was his attainment of the 50-goal milestone, but other issues were discussed as well. There were many questions from the Canadian media about the Caps’ playoff hunt and if he was surprised to be in it right now.
When asked about his reaction to last night’s 6-goal first period, he responded in true Ovie form, “I was pretty shocked, the whole team was pretty shocked; that night everything go to the net. I was very excited.”
Ovechkin talked about reaching the 50-goal mark, which he says is very hard to do. He keeps all of his milestone pucks in a display case on the wall in his home.
What about Boudreau- what has he done differently? “He knows the guys very well because he coached in Hershey and lots of guys played in Hershey and he knows how to use some players. We can beat everyone if we want. We beat Ottawa in four games. We can play well against anybody.”
He also addressed his recent scoring drought: “I just try passing, try the system. I talk to Bruce, my family, they say not to worry about it. A couple of games I was nervous, but after the Tampa game when we won, i tell myself, play how you can, do what you can, help team do what you can do. Block shots if you can’t score goals; it’s not all about goals.”
When queried about fellow countryman Pavel Bure, Ovechkin responded, “I saw video, he was one of the greatest Russian players in history. I especially remember the moment in the Olympic games when he scored 5 goals. He was great. Everybody has his own style.”
Is Ovechkin actively chasing the 60-goal mark? Not necessarily; he has other priorities: “I score goal, we win, I’ll be happy. It’s all about winning. When you score lots of goals, it’s good, but only good if team’s winning. People say, ‘You’re selfish, you just want to score goals, you don’t want to win.’ I don’t want to look selfish.”
Ovechkin’s theory about shooting: “I will be happy if I score 100%. I score 52 goals and I’m happy. If you don’t shoot, you never score goal. If I have a chance to shoot, I am always shooting. If my partner is in a better position, I give puck to him.”
Is Ovechkin amazed that the Caps are in the playoff race? “I’m not surprised, we have a good team, we support each other and we know our goal. We just have to pitch in and do what we have to do.”
Caps fans will be watching the team as they do what they have to do, and fervently hope that they go all the way.
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