Illegal Stick an Issue for Ovechkin?

The Pittsburgh Penguins are down 2-0 in a best-of-seven series. That's hardly a desperate situation, but it's very close to one, considering the record of teams down 3-0 in a best-of-seven.

With that in mind, some Penguin fans are starting to reach. With their power play in shambles and no one on the team outside of the captain playing consistently, it's apparently time to shift focus and complain about whether Alex Ovechkin's stick curve is illegal and, therefore, giving him an advantage on goalies.

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I'm all for a little between-games drama. But I don't see this working out for Pittsburgh.

Several times last night you could see Ovechkin switching his stick for another one on the bench. Why? Is he very particular about his lumber? Or is he trying to hide something?

After scoring his second goal of the game on the power play during yesterday's contest, Ovechkin remained on the ice as the Penguins returned to even strength. His stick did not.

Ovechkin scored the goal, celebrated and then quickly switched sticks before the faceoff. Again, the question is why?

For starters, the chances of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, or Sergei Gonchar skating over to a referee and requesting that Ovechkin's stick be checked are virtually nil.

The writer, Rick Moldovanyi, admits this would be a desperate move by the Pens, but he argues it's a justifiable one with little potential harm to the Penguins.

What he doesn't count here is the court of public opinion. Yes, Crosby is already branded as a diver, a whiner, and a cheap-shot artist by fans who dislike him. But most hockey fans appreciate the good qualities about Crosby over anything negative. If Crosby requests a check of Ovechkin's stick, and it turns up legal, he has just cost his team the series, and he has destroyed much of the positive image he's worked so hard to build up for himself.

Not only that, but the last thing the Penguins need is to do something like this, only to end up with a two-minute minor of their own out of it. That's the punishment for having a legal stick checked. What if Ovechkin's stick is legal? Is that a risk worth taking? Given how Pittsburgh is struggling during these playoffs, having played dominant hockey for only small stretches of their first eight games, why would they willingly risk giving up any momentum in a game or a series?

I may be a bit old-fashioned on this, but I believe the Penguins have a chance to win until they lose their fourth game. They've only lost two. Resorting to a ploy like this could blow up in the face of Crosby and his team, and I don't see them going that route.