If you saw Mike Green in the bank yesterday, changing a pile of twenties into rolls of quarters, it's because he's headed to Vegas.
He and Ovie are off to the desert to play loose slots, and they hope to come home with some hardware. The NHL Awards are Thursday, and the two Caps hope to score big in Sin City... so to speak.
Ovie's up for the Hart Trophy, which, sad to say, is not named for the Hitman. He's up against Pavel Datsyuk and Geno Malkin for the league's MVP. It's likely either him or Geno. C'mon... let Ovie have it. Geno's won enough lately!
Green's up for the Norris. And thankfully voting closed before the playoffs began! He's got as good a chance as any, but he's got tough competition from perennial winner (six times!) Nick Lidstrom, and the behemoth-like Zdeno Chara. Green's flashy goals stood out, but he's not a terrible defensive player (if you ignore his playoff performance!).
If one or both win their awards, it sets up all sorts of random trivia, according to the Caps.
If they both win, it's the first time that teammates will have swept the awards since Mark Messier and Brian Leetch did it in the early '90s. If Ovie wins the Hart, he'll be the first forward to win back-to-back ones since someone called "Gretzky." (Who?)
While Ovie and Green are in Vegas they might want to make an incognito trip to one of the sports books, too. DC Sports Bog points out that they have 10:1 odds to win the Cup next year, which is the third-best odds in the East. (Behind Pittsburgh and the Bruins.)
A few rolls of quarters there, and Ovie might be able to afford a few more 'dos at the Hair Butchery come next June.
Chris Needham used to write Capitol Punishment. He once won $10 at a blackjack table.
