Ovechkin Drops Gloves with Downie, But Bradley Does Dirty Work

There was no shortage of excitement last night when the Washington Capitals took on the Tampa Bay Lightning.  The best moment came late in the game when the gloves were dropped by Alex Ovechkin and Steve Downie.  Interestingly enough, Ovechkin and Downie never got down to business.

Things got heavy between Downie and Ovechkin early in the third period.  As Downie swept in to make a move, Ovie made a move of his own by cruising in to crush the right wing with a hard hit.  However, Downie's teammates contend that the hit was dirty because Ovechkin may have used his knee in the collision.

Tampa's Center Jeff Halpern said of the hit, "Downs makes a move. [Ovechkin] sticks his knee out, leaves his knee out there...it's not the cheapest hit in the world, but it's still a dirty hit."

That said, it was not a penalty and some players never even noticed the controversial knee.  Even though Downie didn't comment after the game regarding whether or not Ovechkin stuck his knee out, he certainly behaved in-game as if that was the case.  After the collision, Downie took a swing at Ovechkin who swung back, clearly ready for a fight to ensue.  At this juncture a fight was not to happen, though, as the ref quickly stepped in and sent both men to the box for roughing - a two minute penalty.

After spending time in the box the penalty was in the past,  but the mens' agitation stayed high.  Ovechkin and Downie shared some words and the intent of the men became clear as Downie threw his gloves to the ice.  Answering the call, Ovechkin followed suit and even removed his helment in preparation for the throw-down. Little did Ovie know he wouldn't have to throw a single punch.

As Ovechkin's gloves hit the ice, Matt Bradley flew in from the bench, grabbed Downie by the jersey, and began wailing away on the Tampa Right Wing.  Downie returned in kind and a hockey slug-fest was underway.  Both men got in some heavy shots with Bradley seeming to land the most hay-makers of the two.

This type of pinch-fighting is certainly unorthadox in the NHL, but was not without consideration from Bradley.  Regarding the brawl substitution, Bradley assured the media that he "would never leave the bench and just randomly go after the guy.  We've got a guy like that going after our best player.  Obviously we can't let that happen."

Bradley's comments allude to an interesting decision on his part.  He was not thinking about just himself or Ovechkin, but his team.  By stepping in and trading blows with Downie, he potentially saved the Washington Capitals' season.  Ovechkin accounts for the most points and goals on the Caps team this season with 56 points, 27 goals, and 29 assists.  In fact, without Ovechkin on the ice, the Caps do not have many scoring options left.  The next closest in goals is Alexander Semin with 19 and the next closest in total points is Nicklas Backstrom who logs 51, but 33 of those are assists.  

We will never know what might have happened had Ovechkin and Downie been able to trade blows.  Still, a possible outcome is an Ovechkin injury, which is clearly not something Bradley was ready to accept. This shows Bradley's clear respect for the Capitals' team dynamic.

For what it's worth, we cannot question Ovechkin's toughness.  He was ready to fight.  He dropped not only his gloves, but his helmet as well, which suggests that he was not afraid of Downie or blows to the head.  Ovechkin echoed his toughness after the game saying, "I dropped my helmet and I dropped my gloves, so I was ready to fight...Brads jumped in to fight for me.  He did a great job."