The play occurred around two minutes into the period after Ovechkin was sprung on a breakaway and had a bit of a toe pick that caused him to fumble the puck and slide into the end boards.
Even the broadcast team weren't sure what to make of Ovechkin's embarrassing actions and after laying on the ice like he had just been serious injured for a moment, Ovechkin popped right back up onto his skates and made his way off the ice.
When he realized that he was about to head down the tunnel to go through concussion protocol, that's when he stopped trying to sell the call and switched gears from injured to angry, slamming his helmet off on his way to the quiet room.
Oh, the duality of Ovechkin. One night, he's waiving off penalties on his own and the next he's embellishing to try to get a call in a tight game. The Caps announced that Ovi would not return to the game, but you have to imagine it may have had something to do with the fact that he was in line to miss 15 minutes of action due to protocol.
The announcement that Ovechkin would not return was not made until after the Caps had built a two-goal lead in the third. With the playoffs set to start next week, I suppose it's not a bad idea for the Caps to give Ovi a bit of extra rest anyway.
POLL | ||
AVRIL 24 | 459 ANSWERS Ovechkin injured against the Leafs? Or an over-dramatic sell job? Do you buy that Ovechkin was actually injured on the play? | ||
Not for a second | 273 | 59.5 % |
Maybe he was | 126 | 27.5 % |
I believe him 100% | 60 | 13.1 % |
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