Malkin VS Ovechkin (Part 101)

I apologize for beating this topic to death but articles continue to be pop up on it "after-the-fact" and they seem to support my rants (or bring up more interesting points) - so your beef would be with them and not me.

Anyway, Mark Madden posted an article yesterday on timesonline.com and, again I can't believe I'm admitting this, we seem to agree on the matter at hand and I really couldn't have said it better myself:

Malkin was dumbfounded by Ovechkin’s viciousness, saying he didn’t know why Ovechkin targeted him. Malkin’s teammates seemed equally confused, offering little by way of retaliation.

That’s understandable. I can’t remember ever seeing one superstar relentlessly headhunt another superstar before. But one thing is clear from a Penguins’ perspective: It can’t happen again.

If Ovechkin won’t respect Malkin’s status as a superstar, the Penguins can’t respect Ovechkin’s status as a superstar. If that means that Eric Godard does Ovechkin a favor by rearranging his face, so be it.

However, what's more interesting is that Madden seems to shed some light on the new-found rivalry which seems to have started sometime back in August 2007 according to the article which also cites 2 events that may have played a part in the love / hate relationship between the two:

• In August 2007, Ovechkin allegedly assaulted Gennady Ushakov, one of Malkin’s agents, in a Moscow club.
• When the Capitals played the Penguins this past Jan. 21, Malkin shrugged off an attempted big hit by Ovechkin, sending Ovechkin careening wildly into the boards. The turnabout — that saw Malkin confront Ovechkin immediately after — seemed to embarrass Ovechkin.

Interesting!

The article goes on to say that the rivalry may be interesting, but it's not good for hockey and the league should consider confronting Ovechkin without causing waves because actions like this among the NHL's top superstars could eventually tarnish the leagues reputation if not kept in check.

This article brings up alot of good points and I honestly agree with Madden's assessment of the situation which could escalate rapidly into something quite ugly.

Ovechkin has always been an intense competitor, and it’s served him well. But this past Thursday, there was something wild-eyed — almost insane — about the way Ovechkin continually went after Malkin.

A SCSF reader recently posted a comment on my last entry on my beginning to hate Ovechkin because of his recent need to pound on Malkin asking if I was biased to which I responded, "don't mess with my Pens;" however, I think Madden summed it up so much better than I did, so I suggest that you read his article to get a clearer picture as to my strong convictions toward Ovechkin and advise you that it may not solely be based on "bias."

Again, "DON'T MESS WITH MY PENS!"