Ovie Is Okie

It was a scary sight for Capitals fans as Alex Ovechkin was left lying on his back after taking a hard shoulder-first slide into the boards on Tuesday night.

The incident occurred late in the second frame when Ovechkin and Bruins d-man Zdeno Chara were chasing after a loose puck, when Ovie lost his balance while trying to get around Chara and then slid into the end boards.

Caps training staff immediately came to the aid of Ovechkin, but after a few seconds he got up and went to the locker room. He would miss the rest of the second period but did return for the third.

News comes today from the Washington Post that there's nothing to worry about and that Ovechkin is as healthy as an Ox. Healthier than an ox? No, that's just ridiculous.

"It was just a hockey moment -- it is OK," Ovechkin told the Post.

Bruce Boudreau, head coach of the Caps also tried to downplay the accident, saying to NHL.com, "As far as I know, he's OK. He's a pretty tough kid."

So to recap, Alex Ovechkin slams into the boards shoulder-first, an incident that would have separated the shoulders of most, but he doesn't have to leave the game, is not injured, and won't miss anytime at all. Has anybody checked to make sure that Ovechkin isn't actually some sort of Russian super robot? Because I'm beginning to have my doubts.

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Snow Blower 1, Joe Sakic 0

Joe Sakic has missed a lot of time in this his final season. He was to be out six more weeks to recover from surgery to repair a herniated disc in his back. Well you can upgrade Sakic's time on the shelf from six weeks to three months due to an incident involving a snow blower.

The Avs made the announcement Wednesday, that Sakic will miss approximately three months after undergoing surgery on Tuesday night to repair three broken fingers and tendon damage.

"Joe's surgery was performed by a hand specialist," said Avalanche Team Doctor Andy Parker. "The procedure went well and he's expected to make a full recovery."

So if Sakic is supposed to be recovering from serious back surgery, then why is he operating a snow blower? Isn't he rich enough to pay somebody to do that while he's out rehabing a herniated disc? Unless there's more to this than meets the eye. Perhaps what I've thought all along is true and machines have a mind of their own. And maybe this snow blower was programmed to be evil. All I know is that I'll be keeping a close eye on snow blowers from this point forward.

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Bye Bye Brodeur

According to a press release from New Jersey Devils President, CEO and GM Lou Lamarillo, veteran netminder Martin Brodeur will undergo surgery to repair the distal bicep in his left elbow.

Those in the medical know say this means that Martin Brodeur will be out 3-4 months.

Brodeur suffered the injury during the second period of Saturday's Devils victory over the Atlanta Thrashers with what was described as a "bruised elbow." He left the arena without talking to the media and was listed as day-to-day by the team.

"When you have a Marty Brodeur as a goaltender and he's out for a significant amount of time sure it certainly gives you a knot in your stomach, but you have move forward," Devils coach Brent Sutter told the Bergen Record. "I'm confident and I trust the players here that they will do what needs to be done to move forward."

Did it just get really windy all of a sudden or was that from all of the Devils fans waving their playoff chances goodbye.

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Zednik Back At It

We all remember the incident very well. Seven months ago, during a game against the Buffalo Sabres, Richard Zednik nearly died after a carotid artery in his neck was accidentally severed by the skate of teammate Olli Jokinen.

The image of Zednik clutching his neck as he skated back to the bench is a hard one to forget. It retrospect, few realized how close he came to losing his life.

Zednik lost a lot of blood, spent a week in the hospital recovering, and as doctors put it, came as close to death as you possibly can.

For many fans and players it's hard to forget that event and put it behind them, imagine how tough it must be for the man it happened to. Zednik, however is trying his hardest to do so as he's back on the ice with his Florida Panthers teammates, preparing for the upcoming season.

"I just want to get back to playing, to being a leader on the ice," Zednik said. "I don't want people asking me about this all year. We'll do something before the season. We'll make a tape or something for everyone. I don't want to think about it. I want to play hockey. I don't want what happened in my mind."

At practice, Zednik was wearing a Kevlar-based neck protector - making Zednik a member of a small group of NHLers that sport neck protection.

"It feels good, it doesn't bother me at all," Zednik said. "Everything feels good right now."

Well good for him, because I could not do what he's doing. You see, I get discouraged easily. If I'm sitting at my desk and I get a paper cut, I'm honestly not handling any paper for the rest of the day. I just don't want to take any chances.

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