We're into the second half of the hockey season, and the push for the playoffs begin!

Too Hot To Handle

Written by: Jesse Michael on 27th March 2009

PHOTO BY SCOTT VANKOUGHNETT

Ovechkin's goal scoring has him on pace to win his second consecutive Rocket Richard trophy | read this item

It’s one of the most common links between sports. In Football, you think of Terrell Owens with a sharpie. Soccer, it’s the shirt over the head sliding on your knees, or the back flip. Hockey, you think of Tiger Williams riding on his stick between the blue lines, or Teemu Selanne’s “machine gun” celebration.

Whatever the sport, players are full of emotion, and sometimes they choose to use it in a negative way (ala Todd Bertuzzi/Steve Moore), or in a positive way; celebrating achievements.

In last week’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Alex Ovechkin, after scoring his 50th goal of the season, put his name on a celebration never seen before in hockey. Ovechkin came down one on one on the Tampa defender and snapped a shot from the top of the circle, beating goaltender Kari Ramo far side.

This makes him one of, if not the most enjoyable player to watch in the NHL today.

Ovechkin then came around the net, stopped, and in what he described as “just putting my stick on the ice, and makes it like hot, hot, hot,” dropped his stick to the ice and pretended it was like a smoldering piece of coal . (If you live under a rock)

Many were quick to criticize Ovechkin for his celebration, including Lightning head coach Rick Tocchet, who felt the Russian superstar was showing up the Lightning.

“I think he’s a terrific player. He went down a notch in my books after that,” Tocchet said in a post-game interview. “It’s not something I like. It’s hard for me to accept, to see something like that in our building.”

It’s too bad that Tocchet couldn’t have seen the goal from a fans perspective. Because quite honestly, it was one of the funniest celebrations I’ve ever seen.

NHL players have been criticized on numerous occasions for being too ‘robotical’ or predictable (see Sidney Crosby). However, Ovechkin has always had the reputation of a player who does and says what is on his mind, no matter what the consequences. This makes him one of, if not the most enjoyable player to watch in the NHL today, and I think many would agree, even if your last name IS Cherry.

The major story in all of this, and it has been somewhat overlooked, is that Ovechkin has scored over 200 goals in his first four seasons in the NHL. This makes him the fifth fastest player all-time to reach the mark, sitting behind hall-of-famers named Gretzky, Bossy, Hull, and Lemieux.

In a game that is desperate for attention, Ovechkin has brought back some excitement that has been missing for a long time. He has his Capitals vying for their second straight playoff appearance, and I believe they will go deep into the playoffs because of his “grab the bull by the horns” leadership.

I think we should cut Ovechkin a little slack on his goal celebrations. After all, I don’t even know what kind of celebration I would do if I scored one goal in the NHL, let alone 50 in one season.

For Open Ice Hockey, I’m Jesse Michael

As a bonus, I’ve added two links for your enjoyment.

Top-10 funniest goal celebrations of all-time – here

Also, who says players can hog all the celebration fun. Check out the reaction of this goaltender after stopping a shootout attempt.

Topics: Alexander Ovechkin, Celebrations, Kari Ramo, NHL Celebrations, Rick Tocchet, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals