Ovechkin-Downie Incident

A lot of controversy has been raised over the incident involving Russian superstar Alexander Ovechkin and Steve Downie. As any true hockey fan will tell you, this should not be. It was an ideal example, executed perfectly by all three members, of what to do when a scrapper gets in the face of a superstar.

Unfortunately for the game, our nation's greatest medium of sports, ESPN, seems to have a personal vendetta against the NHL. Discussing the sport only when cast in a negative light, ESPN allowed Pardon The Interruption's Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon to unjustly ridicule everyone involved, doing so only from the safety of their studio. In what is undeniably a divine intervention, the video is viewable only to ESPN Insiders, causing the anti-NHL brainwashing of Americans to be limited. Kornheiser and Wilbon show their complete ignorance not only by their fallacious opinions, but also by their questioning of why Ovechkin and Downie removed their helmets, proving that they totally missed or ignored the heated, yearlong debate raging over fighting in hockey. They accused Ovechkin of "hiding behind his goon," oblivious to the facts that Ovechkin and Downie had just exited the penalty box for going at it already and that Alex the Great had removed his bucket and dropped the gloves. AO8 (Ovechkin) was ready and willing to fight, like he has been in the past. Kornheiser and Wilbon continued to portray the incident in a negative fashion, completely ignorant of the unwritten code surrounding hockey fights.

As this video clearly shows, Ovechkin lays a perfectly clean hit on Downie. Downie took offense from the hit, and proceeded to engage AO8 in a shoving match. The Great Eight consented and both players dropped the gloves. All eight skaters came to the aid of their teammates and the bout was quickly broken up. The pair earned coincidental roughing minors and exited the sin bin at the conclusion of their penalties. They immediately engaged, beginning with trash talk, before both players dropped their gloves and removed their lids, clear indications that a fight was to occur. Ovechkin (6'2" 220 lbs) possessed the size advantage over Downie (5'11" 200 lbs). This is not to suggest that Ovechkin was picking on a pipsqueak; Downie has earned his share of fighting majors over the years. (Of course, he played for the Flyers. More on that in the upcoming weeks.) As the opponents sized each other up, renowned scrapper Matt Bradley left the Capitals' bench in WHAT WAS A LEGAL LINE CHANGE! (I couldn't find the video, but another Capital entered the bench as Bradley hopped the boards.) Bradley made a beeline for Downie and fought in Ovechkin's stead, proving that the newly appointed captain has truly earned the respect of his teammates.

No player can be found at fault for what occurred. Ovechkin, who is not afraid to play physically (You may have noticed his gap-toothed smile.), contrary to the aspersions cast by PTI's deriders, defended himself honorably and was undoubtedly ready and willing to fight Downie. Bradley made a legal line change and rushed to the aid of his captain and superstar. Nobody in the Capitals' organization is the least bit critical of Bradley's actions. Downie did not instigate a fight or target Ovechkin. AO8 made the first contact and stood by waiting for Downie to get up and engage him.

If you watch the entire clip, (Nothing of importance happens in the final two minutes.) you will hear the commentators discussing the need to "play angry," and attributing poor performance to a lack of such anger. You will see #1 overall draft pick Steven Stamkos, who, alongside #2 overall pick Victor Hedman and All-Star Martin St. Louis, immediately came to the aid of Downie, talking with Ryan Malone, the hero of the Stanley Cup Finals who, while playing with a broken nose sustained earlier in the series, took a 90+ mph slap shot directly to his unprotected face and remained in the game. You will hear the Rocky theme song being played over the arena's speakers, validating that hockey is a game where fighting is accepted and prepared for.

It's the way the game is played. Always has been. Always should be. Hockey players settle their disputes on the ice, not with guns in the locker rooms. Take note here, Kornheiser and Wilbon. If you are unfamiliar with the unwritten code of the game, your opinion is not requested nor valued.

Special thanks to HockeyFights.com for their terrific records of every fight of every player in the NHL and many junior leagues. Their link can be found in the sidebar along with several other interesting websites.