If you were too caught up in the action Thursday night, you may not have noticed that Washington Capitals coach Dale Hunter benched Alex Ovechkin for all but 15 seconds of the final 14 minutes of the Caps' 2-1 win over Boston.
Hunter's reason for sitting his best scoring threat and team captain in a close Stanley Cup playoff game?
Hunter said he wanted "shot-blockers out there'' to protect the lead.
That's not quite a vote of confidence in Ovi's overall play, especially in his own end.
But Ovechkin laughed off the benching after practice on Friday.
"Well, we win, so I play good," Ovechkin said with a smile when asked about how he played Thursday night.
Kidding aside, Ovechkin said he understood Hunter's decision to let him ride the pine for all but two minutes of the third period.
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"We win the game, and that's the most important thing," he said. "It doesn't really matter how many minutes ... Of course I want to be there, but it's his decision."
"I understand it and accept it," he continued. "I want to be out there. It's his decision. We're not going to be talking about it because it's not time for this. We win the game and that's the most important thing right now. It doesn't matter if I play 10 seconds or five seconds. The most important thing is team results."
