Washington Capitals captain and superstar Alex Ovechkin is set to face a disciplinary hearing after his hit on Zbynek Michalek during the Capitals 4-3 OT loss on Sunday. Ovechkin laid a bone-crushing check on Michalek approximately 4 minutes and 5 seconds into the second period on Sunday. During the play, Ovechkin’s feet appeared to leave the ice prior to making contact, but Michalek also appeared to be falling before contact was made. There was no penalty called on the play, and it appeared as though Michalek’s head was not the principal point of impact.
Ovechkin’s hearing is scheduled for early this afternoon with NHL vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan. Ovechkin did not address the hit after the game, and responded, “No comment,” to reporters after the Capitals morning practice.
In the past Ovechkin has been suspended twice in his career, but neither occurred within the past 18 months, therefore he will not be considered a repeat offende...
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