Live from Washington
WASHINGTON -- Random thoughts from Verizon Center:
*Sidney Crosby is great. Vincent Lecavalier is a star. But if I'm starting a team, I'm taking Alexander Ovechkin.
The Capitals' superstar is a pleasure to watch. He hits, as a crushed Brian Campbell would attest just 40 seconds after the opening faceoff. He scores, as Ryan Miller found out in the first period. He has fun, as the huge smile and jump from the ice showed after linemate Nicklas Backstrom scored.
*Good crowd tonight in D.C. The top shelf is rocking with an equal number of Sabres fans and Cap fanatics, and the lower bowl is almost full. The club level is empty, but you can't expect it all when the home team is in last place.
*You know how fans in HSBC Arena cheer when they show soldiers on the video screen? This place went bonkers when soldiers from Walter Reed, the army medical center, were introduced. Nice stuff.
*Andrej Sekera just fed Maxim Afinogenov with a long pass to set up a breakaway goal. And I thought they should have sat the rookie defenseman and started Nolan Pratt.
*Nice to see Drew Stafford still plays for the Sabres. Hadn't seen him in a while, but he scored against the Capitals.
*Tim Connolly is a top-line player when healthy. He is now, and the stats show it. Four-game points streak and 10 points in the past eight games.
---John Vogl
