Some players excel because they’re competitive. Others have hidden motivations, the things they turn to inside themselves to excel.
For Mike Green, it's his fantasy life.
The Caps defenseman broke the franchise record for power play goals by a D-man Wednesday with his two-goal performance against the Islanders.
His second, which was the 30th of the season, makes him just the eighth blueliner to hit that total. That it turned out to be the game-winner made it all the more sweet.
Green had been in a bit of a scoring slump -- at least by his standards -- lately. Wednesday's outburst, he said, owes a bit to one of his old friends -- more specifically, one of his old friend's fantasy teams.
Before the game, he got a phone call from his friend Kyle. Kyle's fantasy team had been slumping a bit, and he urged Green to get his butt in gear and get him some points.
"I promised my buddy back home that I'd get them tonight. So I got to give it up to Kyle Lieske, a good buddy of mine. I promised him, so those ones are for him."
Caps fans are undoubtedly sending Mr. Lieske boxes of pre-paid phone cards.
Does Green's outburst make him the favorite for the Norris Trophy? Perhaps.
He leads all defensemen in points by eight. Shea Weber and Sheldon Souray are both nine goals behind him. His +/- rating is sixth among blueliners.
So he's got some gaudy numbers. But in a league where Nicklas Lidstrom (hold your boos, please!) still roams, it's not going to be an easy win.
All we need, apparently, is for Green and his friends to start fantasizing. So get to it, Caps fans!
Chris Needham used to write Capitol Punishment. He's pretty sure Sandish Ozolinsh won't win the Norris this year.
