Pregame Press: Take a Shot of Ovie

News and notes before Game 3

The latest news and notes from the Caps-Pens series before tonight's huge Game 3 at Mellon Arena in Pittsburgh:

Not sure how Michael Wilbon did it, but he got this amazing quote from Ted Leonsis about the comparisons between Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby:

"Sid is the best white wine the restaurant has to offer. Alex is a Denver Slammer, a shot of tequila in a glass of champagne. You whack the glass so that the fizz is coming up and you just shoot it."

Wow, that's quite the visual. It also makes you wonder what some of the other players would be in terms of drinks. Let's see...

Harvey Wallbanger: John Erskine
Kamikaze: Chris Clark
Vodka and Cranberry: Nicklas Backstrom (Absolut, of course)
Glogg: Michael Nylander
Sidecar: Whoever's on the right wing with Ovechkin and Fedorov

And before you say it, White Russian was just too easy...

Hat Tricks and Arlington

Interesting bit of info from the Bog today dealing with hat tricks at the Verizon Center.

When someone nets a trick, where do all the hats go after they're thrown on the ice?

If you said into a big plastic trash can and then on to a charity ... you're wrong.

They go to Arlington, Va.

... the Caps are planning on building a permanent hat-trick display that will potentially be located inside their practice facility in Ballston's Kettler Capitals Iceplex. And any good hat-trick display demands hundreds if not thousands of hat-trick hats. These hats are thus important relics the moment they touch down. Part of history, even.

So the next time Ovie scores three, toss a hat and know that it will be part of history.

Take that, Sid!

Hey, I Won! No, I Didn't!

About 460 Pens fans had their dreams of attending a playoff game shattered this week after being told they won tickets via a text message, only to be texted again an hour later that, umm, a mistake was made and they really didn't win. Doh!

The second message:

"Due 2prgrmng error, the results of 2days student rush txt alrt were invalid &unfortunately u didn't win the contest. We apologize 4inconvenience. STOP."

Stop indeed.

Building For The Future

As you may or may not know, the Penguins play in the oldest arena in the NHL. Mellon Arena, previously known as the Civic Arena, and more commonly known to Pens fans as "The Igloo," was originally built as an opera house as well as an all-purpose structure.

The cool thing about it: it has a retractable dome roof.

The not-so-cool thing about it: It's old and busted.

But starting in the 2010-11 season, the Pens will have a new arena for Crosby and the boys to call home. It's currently under construction.

Take a look at how it's progressing by clicking here.

And find out more about it here.

More From Wilbon

Wilbon wasn't done with just the outstanding Leonsis quote. He added some colorful writing of his own by giving Ovechkin even more props:

Ovechkin is a beast. He explodes, like a tornado. Ovechkin is scary. His shot is scary. There's an aggression about him, a barely controlled fury that Crosby, great as he is, doesn't have. Nobody else has it. Watching Ovechkin on Monday night reminded me of watching Bobby Hull play for the Chicago Blackhawks when I was a kid.

He's the fastest, toughest guy with the biggest shot, the fewest teeth.

Every great player wants to win. Ovechkin wants to beat you down.

Well, there's not much left to say after that. Stop the presses. Shut down the interwebs. Turn off the lights. We're going home.

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