Alex Ovechkin receives standing ovation in Pittsburgh as Crosby, Penguins' stars sit

AtlanticBruinsCanadiensLightningMaple LeafsPanthersRed WingsSabresSenatorsMetropolitanBlue JacketsCapitalsDevilsFlyersHurricanesIslandersPenguinsRangersCentralAvalancheBlackhawksBluesJetsMammothPredatorsStarsWildPacificCanucksDucksFlamesGolden KnightsKingsKrakenOilersSharksScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsFantasyNHL OddsNHL PicksPlayoff projectionsNHL Draft rankingRed Light NewsletterNHL Regular In what could be Ovechkin's final appearance in Pittsburgh, fans gave him a proper sendoff — just in case. Philip G. Pavely / Imagn Images Share full article1PITTSBURGH — The Penguins opted for prudence over sentimentality. In what may have been Alex Ovechkin’s final appearance in Pittsburgh, the Penguins, who have already clinched second place in the Metropolitan Division, decided to sit Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang, Bryan Rust and Ben Kindel on Saturday afternoon. The result was a fairly one-sided, 6-3 Capitals win. Ovechkin punctuated the game with an empty-net goal. “He’s a legend in this sport,” Justin Brazeau said. “We have nothing but respect for him.” The same can be said of the Pittsburgh crowd. During a break in play in the second period, the sellout crowd at PPG Paints Arena gave Ovechkin a lengthy standing ovation following a brief video tribute. “Honestly I was surprised to see that video come up,” said Anthony Mantha, a former teammate of Ovechkin’s in Washington. “He hasn’t announced anything yet, as we know. But it’s awesome. The hockey community as a whole is good, and fans here in Pittsburgh are great.” Mantha enjoyed his time as Ovechkin’s teammate. “He was so fun to be around,” Mantha said. Always laughing. Joking. He’s greatness.” Ovechkin, who also received a standing ovation in Pittsburgh last season after breaking the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring record, appreciated the nod from Penguins fans. He hasn’t announced whether this will be his final NHL season, but there is a possibility that this could be the end of the road for the goal king. “It was nice,” Ovechkin said. “It was a show of respect. All that time that we spend on rivalries, playoffs, other good seasons … yeah. It shows respect.” Mantha, Kevin Hayes and Noel Acciari scored for the Penguins, who play the Capitals again at 3 p.m. on Sunday in Washington. • This is a tough one to analyze because the Penguins sat almost all of their best players and clearly are favoring getting healthy and rested over winning a game that means nothing to them in the standings. Many players acknowledged the strangeness of this game: It meant everything to the Capitals, there was a noisy, sellout crowd, and the Penguins had played in nothing but important games for weeks. • The good news is that many players got work. Consider what Connor Clifton said after the game when I asked him about the feel of this one. “If we get to where we want to go in the playoffs,” he said, “we’re going to need a lot of people to play.” He’s absolutely right. The Penguins are the most daunting two-month grind in all of sports. People get hurt. Others see their performance drop. Teams don’t win the Stanley Cup by deploying the same 20 players every game. Jack St. Ivany got some work in and looked pretty solid, for instance. Same with Ilya Solovyov. Those two defensemen may well be the first two inserted into the lineup should someone get injured. Some ice time was a good thing. • Dan Muse is in a very strange spot. His priority is obviously preparing his team for the postseason. Everything else is secondary. If someone needs to heal, they should rest. If someone needs a rest, they should rest. Muse’s best players aren’t just beaten up in some cases, but they’re almost all on the wrong side of 30. So anyone who is criticizing him for sitting out so many key players in a nationally televised game isn’t putting themselves in his shoes. That said … I’d be very surprised if Sidney Crosby doesn’t play in Washington on Sunday. I bet Evgeni Malkin will play, too. And you know what? They have the right to play in this game. There is a very real possibility it will be Ovechkin’s final game. Crosby and Malkin are intertwined with the Ovechkin story, just as he is with theirs. I wouldn’t be surprised if they play on Sunday. I’d be very surprised if either of them plays in St. Louis on Tuesday. In fact, I wouldn’t expect any of the Penguins’ big names to participate in that game. Historically speaking, the game in Washington on Sunday is just a hair more important. • Sam Girard was the Penguins’ best player on Saturday. He’s night and day compared to where he was a couple of weeks ago. I had a long chat with him after the game. He essentially said that the system in Pittsburgh is vastly different from what it was in Colorado, and that he required a major adjustment period. • Good for Hayes. I don’t know how many NHL games he has left, but he played pretty well in this game and scored a pretty goal in the second period. He’s a consummate professional and means a lot to many people in the Penguins locker room. • Artūrs Šilovs didn’t get much help, but I can’t say that he did anything to convince me that he should be in the net when the playoffs begin. Stuart Skinner, quite clearly, is the No. 1 guy for the Penguins. • Everything Mantha touches goes in the net. That’s now 32 goals for him. What a season. You can hear the cash register noises every time he scores. • The Capitals still have an outside chance to make the playoffs, and I’ll be honest, they’re the last team I’d want to face if I were the Penguins. I think they’re a bit better than their record; they’ve got a lot of young talent, and their goaltending is pretty solid. They’re also very well coached. • Rutger McGroarty was OK in this game. That’s the problem with him. He’s been OK in many games this season. Not bad at all. He never hurts you. But he leaves you wanting something more. • Kudos to the Penguins for how they handled Ovechkin’s appearance. There is a very real chance that this was his final game in Pittsburgh. It was wise to give the Pittsburgh crowd a chance to give him a proper sendoff, just in case. The Crosby-Ovechkin rivalry has been one for the ages in our lifetime. We’ll probably never see anything quite like it again. That said, the relationship between Ovechkin and Crosby has thawed quite a bit in recent years. Ovechkin has been the worthy enemy, the worthy opponent, and I assure you we will all miss him when he’s gone. There’s something different about games when Crosby and Ovechkin are sharing the ice. There’s a buzz that can’t be recreated. Hopefully, we get to see it one more time on Sunday. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms Josh Yohe is a senior writer for The Athletic covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. Josh joined The Athletic in 2017 after covering the Penguins for a decade, first for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and then for DKPittsburghSports.com. Follow Josh on Twitter @JoshYohe_PGH