Barry Trotz: Alex Ovechkin ‘had that look in his eye’ after big hit

TORONTO — Just after Alex Ovechkin returned to the ice following the brutal hit from Toronto Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadri that sent him to the training room Friday night, Ovechkin himself laid a big hit on Toronto defenseman Jake Gardiner.

It served as proof that Ovechkin was going to be just fine but, to some of the Maple Leafs, it also seemed a sign that Ovechkin was distracted by vengeance.

That, however, is not how Capitals coach Barry Trotz saw it. Trotz thought Ovechkin responded after Kadri’s hit, but didn’t think he got overly caught up in hit-hunting.

“All I can say is go back to the tape,” Trotz said. “Watch how he played. I didn’t think he looked too unfocused. He looked pretty driven. That’s the greatness of Alex. You poke the bear, and he’s pretty driven and I thought he was pretty focused and that’s why I kept using him because he had that look in his eye.

“They can say what they want. He’s on his game right now and he’s going to be a force.”

Kadri was not given a hearing for the hit. A hearing was a possibility because the hit was delivered relatively low on Ovechkin’s body.

“I have my opinion and everybody else has their opinion,” Trotz said. “Obviously, more people have a different opinion than me. But it’s hockey and you move on, Alex will deal with it and all of that stuff, it evens out down the road.”

Capitals forward Tom Wilson, who got chippy with Kadri as part of a four-penalty performance that got Wilson benched Friday night, said he wasn’t trying to get Kadri back but that he did think the hit was dirty.

“I don’t think anyone around the league would say that they liked the hit as a player. You have a chance to go straight up on someone and you bend down and go for the leg, you learn from a pretty young age not to do that,” Wilson said.

Wilson said that he was just giving Kadri “a hard time” after he thought Kadri took a dive after Ovechkin slashed him lightly on the elbow.

“That’s part of hockey,” Wilson said. “It’s emotional. I wouldn’t say I was too charged up but that’s just part of my game.”

In reality, Matt Niskanen got Kadri behind the knees with his stick, so Kadri’s fall may not have been a flop after all. Wilson may not have been able to see Niskanen on the play, though.

Given what had already transpired he was unlikely to give him the benefit of the doubt, anyway.