Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals choke!!!!! by Ronald Carthen

If the Washington Capitals had a definition in Webster's Dictionary, it would be "Ultimate Fail." How can Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals look at themselves in the mirror this morning?

Not only did the they allow Montreal Canadiens become only the ninth No.8 seed to win a series over the No. 1 seed in 32 matchups since the NHL went into it's current format since 1994, they were the first No. 1 team to allow a No.8 seed come back from a 3-1 lead in the series.

I thought Ovechkin was the best hockey player in the league, better yet the entire world. The two-time MVP has played in four career playoff series and all of them went to a Game 7. He and the Caps are 1-3 in those contests. If you are the best player in the league you have to win in big games. In Games 1-4, he had eight points (four goals and four assists), including his best game in Game 4 when he scored two goals and an assists. In Games 5-7, he had only two points (one goal and one assists).

You have to give credit to Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak and his defensive performance for an amazing sense of urgency in this series. Halak had a total of 94 saves in Games 6 (53 saves) and 7 (41 saves). He held the Caps to only three goals in Games 5-7. I know Sidney Crosby and the Pittssburgh Pengiuns are taking serious notice on him at this point.

You also mean to tell me the Caps had problems scoring on power play goals? How can the league's best power play team, converting 25% of thier shots, only go 1 for 33 in this series. When the Habs have a man down for 2:00 you have to take advantage of it.

The Caps, who had the league-best 54-15-13 (121 points), were the best team in the league and they fall short like this. What an embarrasing way to end your season.

This wasn't just a bad lost for the Caps, it was a bigger lost for the league. Ovechkin and Crosby are two of hockey's biggest stars and if you lose one or both of them in the postseason, ratings will fall for sure. Yes the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks are good teams, but they don't have great star power as both of these guys. Good luck to the NHL for trying to get your viewers, especially if Crosby is out befor the Stanley Cup Finals.