Towards the end of the Washington Capitals’ 6-3 loss against the Nashville Predators, both tempers and hits were escalating.
The Capitals were already down by 5-3 late in the third period when a delayed penalty was called on Evgeny Kuznetsov for interference on Nick Bonino.
The Caps Captain Alex Ovechkin then tried to deliver a big hit on the Predators forward Ryan Hartman. Hartman, had other ideas, ducking under Ovechkin, launching him over his body and head-first onto the ice.
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Dang, Ovi. pic.twitter.com/wl9mDD6Ojm
— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) December 31, 2018
Hartman stands at 6’0″ and weighs 181 pounds, compared to Ovechkin at 6’3″ and 232 pounds. So when the already small Hartman lowered his center of gravity, Ovechkin’s body-to-body hit left him vulnerable to Hartman’s…skyward redirection.
Ovechkin landed on his head and shoulders. When he got up, he was NOT happy with Hartman, who did not get penalized on the play.
Meanwhile, Kuznetsov went to the box for the earlier interference call against Bonino, and Ovechkin went for…ruffing, apparently.
What exactly is “ruffing”? @russianmachine @NBCSWashington pic.twitter.com/NfbUOQtiEa
— Jody Lapp (@littlejodo) December 31, 2018
With the Caps playing two men down when they were already two goals down, the game ended about how you’d expect: a 6-3 stinker.
