Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was the center of
attention without scoring a goal.
During Washington's 7-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning late
Tuesday, Ovechkin was accused of a "dirty" play for a hit in the
third period on Tampa Bay's Steve Downie, and the pair later
dropped their gloves and were set to fight in the Lightning zone
with six minutes left. But Washington right wing Matt Bradley
skated in front of Ovechkin and fought Downie.
"Downs makes a move, he (Ovechkin) sticks his knee out,
leaves his knee out there," Tampa Bay center Jeff Halpern said of
Ovechkin's hit. "It's not the cheapest hit in the world, but it's
still a dirty hit. I think it's a dangerous hit."
Tampa Bay coach Rick Tocchet said he didn't see the play, but
added that several Lightning players told him that Ovechkin did
stick his knee out. Ovechkin served a two-game suspension from the
NHL for a kneeing penalty on Nov. 30.
Ovechkin had already talked with reporters before Halpern
made his comments. The Washington captain addressed his near fight.
"I dropped my helmet and I dropped my gloves, so I was ready
to fight," Ovechkin said. "Brads jumped in to fight for me. He did
a great job."
Bradley received four penalties, including two minutes for
instigating, a fighting major and a game misconduct. Downie got a
fighting penalty and a 10-minute misconduct, while Ovechkin
received a minor penalty.
The NHL office was expected to review Bradley's action. He
was on the bench when the altercation started, but said he waited
until another Washington player returned to the bench before going
on the ice.
"I would never leave the bench and just randomly go after the
guy," Bradley said. "We've got a guy like that going after our best
player. Obviously, we can't let that happen."
