Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau is angry. But come on now, is all this hatred really necessary?
Boudreau accused the media Thursday of blowing out of proportion the controversy over Alex Ovechkin's 50th goal celebration and revealed he called Tampa Bay Lightning counterpart Rick Tocchet to talk about the superstar's antics.
The Capitals host the Lightning on Friday, the first meeting between the clubs since Ovechkin hit the 50-goal milestone at Tampa on March 19. The NHL's reigning MVP, whose on-ice exuberance had already been a source of debate around the league, took his act to a new level when he celebrated the goal by putting his stick on the ice and pretending it was too hot to touch.
Was it over-the-top? Was it poorly planned? Was it really, really lame? The answers to all of those questions are a resounding "Yes!"
Ovechkin called attention to himself by doing a pathetic little dance on the ice, so the media has answered his cries for the spotlight.
So why then is Boudreau mad at the media? If anything, he should be mad at his star player for making a mockery of the sport.
After the now infamous Smuckers Stars on Ice celebration, Tocchet said Ovechkin "went down a notch in my books." Players, coaches and pundits (Don Cherry) have since weighed in on whether premeditated celebrations have a place in the NHL. Most would say no for a number of good reasons: This is not an individual sport. Don't mock the opposition. Act like you've scored before. And did we mention his dance was just really, really lame?
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Growing tired of the subject, Boudreau erupted Thursday when asked about the possibility that the Lightning will seek retribution.
"You want to go there? It's 10 days since it happened," Boudreau said. "We have talked to Tampa's coaches. We have said our speech. The people that are bringing this up are you guys. Nobody cares about it anymore. But you guys want to bring it up because you want to see a riot, then you want to talk about retribution. It's the dumbest thing in the world. You've got to have better stuff to talk about.
"There should be no retribution at all. He scored his 50th goal in a 0-0 game. It wasn't 8-0 where he made a mockery. If Tampa scores a couple of goals and wants to do a celebration, go for it. It's a done deal as far as I'm concerned, and that's it."
Boudreau is right about one thing: there should be no retribution in this game. Why? Because it should have happened in the last game. As soon as Ovie took out the tutu and did his version of Swan Lake in front of the Lightning goaltender, someone on the Lightning squad should have shown some pride for his teammates and franchise and knocked that tutu off Ovechkin.
But no one did. And Tocchet and Co. have to live with that for the rest of the season.
Here's the thing. If Ovechkin wants to prance around the ice after scoring a goal, he better be ready to drop the gloves. Take off the visor ala Sidney Crosby and prepare for battle.
"Alex has not had a fight in four years in the NHL," Boudreau said. "Do you think he's going to go out there and people are just going to jump him for something that happened?"
It might happen, Coach. It may not be in Friday night's game, but it will happen, much to Boudreau's chagrin.
Boudreau wishes all of this would just blow over. "I forget things that happened 10 minutes later," he said.
But despite all of the punches to the head and pucks to the teeth, hockey players don't forget an act like that. The little dance is permanently engrained in a lot of players' minds. They will want revenge. And it will be had at some point.
And knowing that is something Ovechkin and the Capitals will have to live with the rest of this season ... and beyond.
