Cherry Goes After Ovechkin Again

After Alex Ovechkin scored his 50th goal last season, he had a rather unique celebration. Even before that happened, Ovechkin's celebrations had drawn the ire of CBC Hockey Night in Canada legend Don Cherry.

Yes, Cherry certainly tends to wear his Canadian heart on his sleeve. However, people generally listen to what he has to say, no matter the potential biases involved. After Ovechkin basically got away with a slew-foot earlier in the week, Cherry was very pointed in his comments on Coach's Corner Saturday night. Video after the jump.

Ovechkin did get off too easy when it comes to his hit on Rich Peverley. It's not about the slew-foot being an automatic suspension. Anyone who watches hockey can ascertain that Evgeni Artyuhkin is a much dirtier player than Ovechkin will ever be.

However, Cherry does have a point when it comes to the superstar. Ovechkin plays the game hard, which no one will ever question. That doesn't give him license to plow people from behind, or hit them in the knee. As Cherry notes, there is a reputation developing, and it isn't necessarily a good one.

At some point, Ovechkin will be asked to drop the gloves and stand up for his style of play. It might not be a desirable thought for Capitals fans, but it's one that is likely to become reality very soon if Ovechkin doesn't tone down his hits a little bit.