Ovie Proves He's No Falling Star

In an article published Monday, Sports Illustrated called Alex Ovechkin a falling star.

It looks like that may have made him a little mad.

The Caps were tied in overtime against the Islanders Tuesday night. In classic Ovie fashion, he picked up a loose puck in his own end, beat a overmatched Frans Nielsen -- twice -- and closed the game with a backhander past a stunned goalie.

The Caps walked away with the 2-1 win and Ovechkin’s new teammates walked away with hope for the season.

"It was just pretty to watch," new winger Marco Sturm said after the game. "He's just an amazing player. That's why he's one of the best."

SI claims that the league has been able to “solve Ovechkin,” yet of his 25 goals this season, six have come in the last month. He leads the league with nine game-winning goals and is more than willing to take advantage of mistakes on the ice.

"They missed the puck in our zone, and I had full speed so it was kind of a pretty goal," Ovechkin said. "I'll take it."

And take it he did. While his overall play hasn’t been up to Ovie par, he’s still a problem for his opponents.

No one knows that today more than Islanders goalie Nathan Lawson, who was working on his first career shutout before Brooks Laich tied the game with less than a minute to go, paving the way for Ovechkin’s heroics.

“It’s extremely disappointing to lose it in the last 47 seconds,” Lawson said. “We battled so hard for 59 minutes. To come away with just one point is unacceptable.”

It’ll take more than one game to prove critics like Sports Illustrated wrong, but last night’s drama proved that Ovie is no falling star.

And if you’re one of the thousands who gave up on the Caps and left the game early or changed the channel, here you go…

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