Canuckistani
Registered User
Tonight surely has to be it.
Ovechkin's Caps haven't yet made it past the second round and have lost several game 7 heart-breakers. So the prospect of capping off a comeback from a 1-3 series deficit vs the Pens has to feel sort of like the Red Sox on the eve of game 7 vs the Yankees in 2004 where they completed a comeback from 0-3 down vs their rivals and erased decades of curse and disappointment.
It's also hard to ignore the Ovechkin vs Crosby contrast that is always drawn, and has to weigh on Ovie's mind to some degree. The two entered the league at the same time to much fanfare and Crosby has clearly had the more successful time of it on almost every level - two stanley cups, two olympic golds, three times as many playoff series wins etc.
And in crucial head-to-head matchups it's been ALL Crosby.
2015 World Junior final (6-1 Canada)
2009 playoffs game 7 (6-2 Pens)
2010 Olympic quarterfinal (7-3 Canada)
2014 Olympics (no Canada-Russia matchup, but Canada wins gold on Russian ice which had to hurt)
2015 World championship final (6-1 Canada)
2016 Playoffs (Pens in six)
2016 World Cup semifinal (5-3 Canada)
So there's a lot riding on tonight's game in addition to the obvious question of who advances. It seems like one of those legacy-deciding moments in a way.
Ovechkin's Caps haven't yet made it past the second round and have lost several game 7 heart-breakers. So the prospect of capping off a comeback from a 1-3 series deficit vs the Pens has to feel sort of like the Red Sox on the eve of game 7 vs the Yankees in 2004 where they completed a comeback from 0-3 down vs their rivals and erased decades of curse and disappointment.
It's also hard to ignore the Ovechkin vs Crosby contrast that is always drawn, and has to weigh on Ovie's mind to some degree. The two entered the league at the same time to much fanfare and Crosby has clearly had the more successful time of it on almost every level - two stanley cups, two olympic golds, three times as many playoff series wins etc.
And in crucial head-to-head matchups it's been ALL Crosby.
2015 World Junior final (6-1 Canada)
2009 playoffs game 7 (6-2 Pens)
2010 Olympic quarterfinal (7-3 Canada)
2014 Olympics (no Canada-Russia matchup, but Canada wins gold on Russian ice which had to hurt)
2015 World championship final (6-1 Canada)
2016 Playoffs (Pens in six)
2016 World Cup semifinal (5-3 Canada)
So there's a lot riding on tonight's game in addition to the obvious question of who advances. It seems like one of those legacy-deciding moments in a way.