For those that don’t know, the Washington Capitals begin their second round playoffs Saturday at 1pm on NBC against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
If you are unfamiliar with hockey and are just starting to listen in to the hype surrounding this series, you may be expecting to tune in for a one-on-one match-up.
I turned on the NHL Network this morning to watch ‘NHL on the Fly‘, and I was excited that they were going to talk to Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin both on the show.
Then I saw the interviews.
Each player was asked approximately 10 questions, and none of them had anything to do with their respective teams or what to expect in the upcoming series. It was all about Ovie vs. Sid.
Isn’t it true you two exchanged autgraphed sticks? What kind of question is that. Who cares? How about asking two of the best players in the world to break down the match-ups, what they think they need to do to win. Sure, throw in a couple of questions about the rivalry or about whose the better player, but for goodness sake’s, don’t ignore the significance of the series itself.
I understand that it is rare to see the league’s two top players square off in the playoffs, but it takes two entire teams to have an exciting series, not two guys, no matter how good they may be.
Ovie and Sid are obviously tired of talking about it. Heck, Ovechkin actually said so at the end of the interview on the NHL Network. Even in this clip from Fox 5 you can hear the frustration creeping in:
Let’s remember to talk about the teams, not just the players. It probably not going to be either of these players that determine the outcome, anyway. Its the second and third lines, the goaltending and the defense that make the difference between a good team with one great line and a Stanley Cup champion.