Washington coach denies benching Ovechkin

Sunday night, the lone goal required in the Philadelphia Flyers’ 1-0 win over the Capitals developed after an offensive-zone turnover by Alex Ovechkin in the second period. The star left wing said he was trying to make a play but instead gave the puck away, sending the rush back into the Washington zone.

Deep in the corner Zac Rinaldo tied up Dennis Wideman, leaving the puck free for Sean Couturier, who sent it up to Matt Carle on the left point.

A pass along the blue line brought it to Pavel Kubina on the right point near the Flyers’ bench, Ovechkin half attempted to block the shot from the Philadelphia blue liner but didn’t get a piece of it. Kubina’s shot was redirected by Eric Wellwood to make it 1-0 and it would be the only goal the Flyers needed.   More….  

Shacks’ Take: Don’t let Coach Hunter fool you, he benched Ovechin.  I’ve long felt Ovie lacked the ability to understand how to lead a team and now Hunter finds himself in the unenviable position of trying to teach an old dog new tricks and that’s getting Ovechkin to buy into a team concept. 

Here’s an article I wrote from the all-star game about my feelings on Ovie’s maturity level, in case you missed it (which is likely) you might find it interesting now.