What could have been...

This year I've been able to see the Oilers play both the Penguins and the Capitals, so I've been "lucky" enough to see them take cracks at both Crosby and Ovechkin. Both games they blew two-goal leads, though last night's game against Washington was so disorganized (and wonderfully entertaining as a result) that you never once thought the lead was safe. Against Pittsburg earlier this year, the Oilers looked like they had the game locked up. They were playing excellent defense, applied sustained pressure and scored on the powerplay (!). Last night, they scored two powerplay goals, another just after time expired, and overall looked pretty decent offensively. Having Moreau back really makes a difference, it's great to see an Oiler throw a hit once in a while. I have to say though, last night's loss was a result of one awful goal and two questionable ones let in by Roloson. He had no chance on the first goal but the next two he saw. They were great shots, but nowadays you expect that if a goalie sees, he'll stop it. The fourth goal was just plain terrible, a shot from just above the goaline that banked in off his stick. I sympathize with Rollie, playing his first game in 17 days (I think). He was fabulous in the shootout, making a few great saves, but the game shouldn't have gotten to that point. Not to say the defense wasn't bad too, they gave up a lot of chances, but you got the sense watching last night that MacTavish got the reminder he wanted that Garon is still the guy for now.

Back to Ovechkin. Seeing both him and Crosby this year and without a doubt, putting national loyalty aside, I'd rather watch Ovechkin. He's ALWAYS at full speed, throws hits, shoots from anywhere, never stands still. A whirling dervish of perpetual motion, he is. I really hope he outlasts this contract and keeps going for years after. If that happens, if he lasts that long, you're undoubtably looking at the greatest European hockey player ever. I do want that to happen, he's great to watch and seems like a nice kid (his top priority has to be English, he's a marketing machine if he does, much moreso than Crosby), but I can't help but think we're looking at the next coming of Pavel Bure. I never liked Bure so I can't say I hoped he'd last, but he had the same kind of game as Ovechkin. Probably faster, don't think his shot was as good, physical but not as much as Alex, not as good a playmaker, and certainly not the same loquacious personality. Same approach to the game though, balls-out all the time but as exciting as that is to watch, it did make Bure injury prone. Just watching Ovechkin, I have to think he's going to suffer a few serious injuries in his career. I can't stress enough how much I do not want that to happen, but I have the feeling that what we're seeing now will be bittersweet memories in future years.