Now you have two reasons to watch!
By: Turner Sports Desk
If you ever needed a reason to watch hockey now you have one. The two best players in the sport are going blow for blow in a seven game series. Both Ovechkin and Crosby scored hatricks in last night's game which is amazing. For those of you not familiar with hockey this is the equivalent of Magic Johsnon in his prime versus Larry Bird in his.
Sidney Crosby is the NHL Front office chosen face of the NHL. He is Canadian, he is handsome, he speaks fluent english and he is one heck of a hockey player. He has already been christened as "the next one" after "the great one", Wayne Gretzky. Like Gretzky, Crosby is a more of a finesse player that plays the game three steps ahead of his opponents. If you were looking for someone to be the face of the franchise Crosby is the cookie cut out.
Alexander Ovechkin is the Player's and People's choice as the face of the NHL. He speaks broken english, he is not as handsome as Crosby but he plays the game with an edge and infectious enthusiasm that the sport desperately needs. Ovechkin can do for hockey what Tiger Woods did for golf in terms of drawing people who are usually not interested in the sport. Despite the fact that he is often criticized by hockey snobs and traditionalists he is what hockey needs. Ovechkin is the exact opposite of Crosby as he is a blunt force impact player. Ovechkin can make you look silly with dekes, he can blow by you with speed or he can simply run you over with his 6'2 225 pound frame. While their are many players like that Ovechkin seems to will himself and his team to another level like Michael Jordan. Ovechkin plays the game like his life depended on every shift and it shows.
Both players are equally effective but in the end one has to win and one has to lose. Thus far in this series it appears Ovechkin is getting more help from his teammates than Crosby is getting from his. Despite all of the hype surrounding the two they both have a genuine respect for each others game/style of play. It is the fans that seem to harbor more resentment. Penguin fans and Canadians in general tend to lean more towards their Good Ol Canadian boy Crosby while Euro's (as Canadians distastefully call them) and non Penguin fans seem to enjoy a breath of fresh air that is Ovechkin. One thing is for certain...you will not see better hockey than this and if you need a reason to watch a hockey game you have two.
How many times will you get to see the two best young players at their sport go at it like this?