Alexander Ovechkin received a five-minute major for boarding Boston Bruins' defenseman Kevan Miller during the second period of the Capitals 2-1 overtime win over the Bruins on Saturday. Miller left the game immediately following the hit and did not return.
The Russian sniper felt that a five-minute major for boarding, was too harsh of a penalty, explaining that the hit was simply a "hockey play."
" It was not even a hit. That's what I told the referee. I didn't try to go through him or something. I just tried to pin him. ...It's hard. Obviously, you don't want to be in this position to take a penalty, but even the referee said I get five minutes because I was heavier than him, so it's kind of strange. It is what it is." Ovechkin said.
Bruins' coach Claude Julien held a different opinion of the hit, and felt Ovechkin deserved a game misconduct for the hit. Julien gently accused Ovechkin of receiving preferential treatment from referees.
"Who knows? If it's somebody else, is it a game? You guys can answer that question yourselves." Julien said.
The impact of the hit could have long lasting implicatations for both teams. Miller was taken to hospital on Saturday, and its presumed he reaggrevated a shoulder injury that saw him miss significant time for the Bruins last season. Third in the Atlantic division as of Sunday, the Bruins have claimed temporary possesion of a playoff spot, but losing Miller will test the Bruins depth leading up to the post season.
With a win on Saturday, the capitals are the first team to register a hundred points this season. However a suspension to Ovechkin would leave the caps without the NHL's leading goal scorer. Ovechkin would be greatly missed by the Capitals especially in a crucial matchup against the Anaheim Ducks on Monday. The Ducks come into Monday's game winners of eleven straight and boast a record of 18-1-1 in their last 20 games.
If there were to be a suspension to Ovechkin, he would have to undergo a hearing with the NHL's department of player safety early in the week. Its seems unlikely Ovechkin will be suspended for the hit, but Ovechkin's suspension history and the longevity of Miller's injury could play a role in a suspension. However Capitals' head coach Barry Trotz doesn't seemed to be worried about the physical play of his workhorse forward.
"You can see they're keeping the puck in, the player's on his back and he does see numbers, but Ovi is a big man and he's out-weighed him a little bit. He was just trying to seal him off. You can tell he gets a stick on the hips, trying to just hold him down so he can't go up the wall. He's got him by 30 or 40 pounds. Ovi is a real strong guy. Ovi could do a lot of damage. I've seen Ovi lay some big hits on big people, so I can tell you that there was no intent." Trotz said.