Washington Capital's Alex Ovechkin has been getting a ton of criticism over the last few seasons due to his declining numbers and his team's disappointing play. However, Ovechkin had never been thrashed on air the way he was by NBC Analyst Mike Milbury on Wednesday night.
During a nationally televised broadcast of the game between Washington and the Philadelphia Flyers, Milbury laid down intense criticism of Ovechkin during an intermission.
When asked if he thought Ovechkin was still a superstar, Milbury responded that Ovechkin "failed" the superstar test "miserably" and put on "an awful display of hockey." He added that the Russian star "should be ashamed of himself."
One highlight showcased saw Ovechkin backhand the puck blindly out of the offensive zone during the forecheck. Milbury responded to that play by saying "Eight-year-olds don't do this in the offensive zone."
During another highlight, Ovechkin was crosschecked from behind and flailed to the ice. Milbury thought it was a moment of exaggeration and stated that Ovechkin behaved "like a baby." He added, "This is ridiculous embellishment. He should be embarrassed by this and so should his teammates. That is silly. Get up and act like a man, for god's sake."
Milbury added that Ovechkin was lazy on the wall during the ensuing powerplay and video highlights did confirm that the Great 8 was stationary while his teammates battled for the puck on the opposing side boards. In another set of highlights Ovechkin is shown skating leisurely while the Flyers rush into the Washington end. In the final set of highlights, Milbury emphasizes how Ovechkin skates off the ice while the Flyers score a goal on his team. Milbury called Ovechkin's play "Inacceptable," a word that does not even exist in the English language according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary. It is likely that Milbury meant to say unacceptable or inexcusable.
The Capitals lost the game 4-1 and Ovechkin did not register a point in the game. He has scored eight goals and seven assists in 19 games for Washington this season. Milbury was the general manager and briefly head coach of the New York Islanders during the late 1990s until 2007 when he resigned. He was known for making controversial decisions for the organization such as trading current day superstars like Zdeno Chara and Roberto Luongo. Milbury also drafted Rick DiPietro with the first overall pick in 2000; DiPietro was recently waived by New York and is finish out the 2013 season with the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
Watch Milbury's rant below:
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