WASHINGTON — A handful of hats lying on battered, playoff ice represent the greatest game I’ve ever seen.
Sidney Crosby had just scored his third goal of Game 2 in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, just minutes after Alex Ovechkin had done the same. The two biggest names in hockey had just notched dueling hat tricks in the playoffs.
The Washington Capitals, fresh off a fire-sale the year before, tabbed Alex Ovechkin with the first overall pick of the 2004 NHL Draft. Because of the lockout and subsequent canceled season, the Russian star hadn’t taken a stride on the ice before the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Sidney Crosby with the first overall pick in the 2005 Draft. And in an instant, the hockey world divided.
Ovechkin and Crosby couldn’t be more different. Ovechkin was Russian — flashy, emotional and a born scorer. Crosby was Canadian — quiet, reserved, a playmaker.
They were from rival countries and played for teams with a rich playoff history against one another. The NHL marketing team didn’t have to do much to get the buzz going, and when the first puck dropped on their joint-rookie season in 2005, the rivalry was born.
Over the next three seasons, both stars led their teams out of the league’s basement and into playoff contention. The Caps’ rise came at a time when Washington was starving for a successful team. When they made the playoffs in 2008, the entire city rallied behind them.
In 2009, it all came to a head when the teams met in Eastern Conference Semifinals. The series was hyped more than anything Washington hockey had seen, and Game 1 didn’t disappoint. The Caps took the opener 3-2, and the fast-paced, high-octane offense both teams were known for was on full display.
I could barely sit still in school before Game 2. This was before the fan base got jaded, before it expected heart-wrenching collapses and terrible finishes. Success was still new, it was still exciting, and my dad had promised to buy tickets to one game of every series they played in that postseason. For the Penguins series, he got tickets for Game 2.
Two weeks earlier, we had watched the Capitals lose 1-0 to the New York Rangers in the opening round at Verizon Center. The Caps fell behind 3-1 in that series before storming back to win it in seven games. This made me nervous, but I knew that this time was different.
Playoff hockey is always electric, but I’ve never felt an atmosphere like I did in Verizon Center that night. I was at the edge of my seat the entire time, watching the tennis-like volley of goals between two of the best offensive teams the sport had seen in a while.
When Ovechkin scored his third goal of the night, the building exploded. It took about ten minutes to collect the hats, longer than I had ever seen. Every time the staff was almost finished, a new wave of hats would rain from the rafters.
Ovechkin’s third goal put the Capitals up 4-2, the first time since the series started that either team had a lead of more than one goal. The crowd was so high that they barely noticed when Crosby scored his third goal with a few minutes left in regulation. It barely quelled the cheers, as if no one realized what the history they had just witnessed.
The handful of hats that scattered the ice took less than a minute to collect.
The Caps would hold on, winning 4-3 and taking a 2-0 lead series lead. The series would go on to be one of the best of the modern era, with three of the seven games ending in overtime, all but two decided by one goal. It would end with the most anticlimactic Game 7 of all time, a 6-2 Penguins win, another game I was in the stands for.
But when I think about that series, about the Ovechkin vs. Crosby debate, about the Capitals’ offensive prowess and the Penguins steady dominance, I think of a Monday night in May when I watched the two greatest players of their time trade hat tricks in the playoffs. And I smile.
