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What controversy? Caps blowout Canes

Alexander Ovechkin

Washington Capitals’ Alexander Ovechkin, of Russia, warms up before an NHL hockey game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in Pittsburgh, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011. Both teams will be wearing commemorative patches to honor the players, coaches and officials of Russia’s Lokomotiv Yaroslavl team who were killed in a plane crash last month. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

AP

When we last saw the Washington Capitals on the ice, Bruce Boudreau was benching (nor not), Alex Ovechkin was yelling, and Nicklas Backstrom was snipping in an OT victory over the Anaheim Ducks. There was plenty said after the victory—but very little of it had anything to do with the win. So the question tonight was: how would Ovechkin and the Caps respond?

The answer: Well. Very well. After giving up an early goal, Washington rattled off five unanswered goals and blew the Carolina Hurricanes out of the RBC Center by a 5-1 score. If this is how the Caps are going to respond to adversity, Boudreau should start benching his captain more often.

It was a mixed bag for Ovechkin. Boudreau put him out on the ice for over 20 minutes of play and the superstar captain produced three shots and a pair of assists. For those who expected to see Ovechkin take his game to a new level, they would have been disappointed. For the majority of the game he was looking to set up teammates and consistently passed up open shots in favor of making the extra pass. It was very un-Ovechkin like.

At the end of the day, Ovechkin had two points and the team had one of their best results of the season. In fact, he’s produced five points in Washington’s last three games. No matter what anyone thinks of Ovechkin’s play individually, the team responded with a dominating performance when they needed to get back on track.

In the meantime, we’ll keep our eye on Ovechkin. Just a hunch, but if they keep beating every opponent by a 5-1 score, no one is going to worry about Ovechkin, passing, or getting benched.