Last week, Dmitry Orlov won bronze with Team Russia at the 2019 World Championship. Fast-forward to this weekend, the Capitals defenseman went on vacation.
While Alex Ovechkin was at the Champions League Final in Madrid, Spain, Orly was on a boat out in the Atlantic Ocean off of Miami Beach.
The St. Louis Blues beat the Dallas Stars 4-3 at American Airlines Center Monday night, taking a 2-1 lead in the second-round series.
While Patrick Maroon scored a thrilling game-winning goal with 1:38 left in regulation, the internet was most impressed by Esa Lindell and his shameless diving in the second period.
Lindell and Robert Bortuzzo were each given minor penalties after their board battle went a little too Hollywood.
Thursday afternoon, the NHL announced that Evgeny Kuznetsov was fined $2,000 for his dive against the New Jersey Devils on December 29. As Kuznetsov skated up the ice, Beau Bennett pushed the Caps forward during a line change. Kuzy fell to the ice in an attempt to draw a penalty.
What may have further drawn the ire of the NHL was the fact that Kuznetsov dangerously swung the butt-end of his stick towards the Devils bench in the aftermath.
This weekend, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin flew to France to enjoy the lovely beaches of St. Tropez. On what he described as his vacation, Ovechkin hung out with former KHL player (CSKA) Ruben Begunts and Brooklyn Nets small forward Andrei Kirilenko (Maria’s cousin).
And for the first time ever, I saw Ovechkin dive.
The Caps game is painful, so let’s look elsewhere for entertainment.
How about Pittsburgh, where Sidney Crosby recorded an assist on Chris Kunitz‘s first-period goal against the Carolina Hurricanes. That apple gave Crosby his fifth career 100-point season. He’s a lock for the Art Ross trophy, but that’s not why we’re writing.
No. We’re writing because tonight is the night the refs finally turned on Sid. As Crosby skated into the Pens’ defensive zone, he got smacked a linesman. We’re ethically obligated to say it was unintentional, but c’mon.
Brad Marchand is a great hockey player. He has a big heart too. His gutless diving, however, has to stop.
In the third period of the Capitals’ 3-2 overtime win over Boston on Saturday, Marchand dropped to the ice like a piano falling off the top story of the Empire State Building after Alex Ovechkin gave him a friendly slash in the ribs.
There are some facts in the world that are undeniable: the earth is round, the sky is blue, and Brad Marchand is a diver.
