Hunter wields clout to bench Ovechkin, for now

Hunter wields clout to bench Ovechkin, for now

LV outlet uk Dale Hunter, it seems, remembers those scenes from the 2010 NHL playoffs. The ones where time and time again, Alexander Ovechkin made a solo rush down the ice against the Montreal Canadiens, desperately trying to get his Washington Capitals back in the game. Almost every time in the last three games of that first-round series, Ovechkin ran into a wall of Habs defenders and the favoured Caps lost in seven. When the Capitals, the top seed in the Eastern Conference, were swept in the second round of last year’s playoffs by the upstart Tampa Bay Lightning, it was a similar story. The Lightning used a superior defensive game to get the upper hand and Ovechkin used his abundant ice time to futilely try to win the game by himself. When he failed, rather than work with his teammates, Ovechkin imploded in frustration and the entire ship sank once more. Hunter, who replaced Bruce Boudreau as the Capitals head coach early this season, has everyone talking around the NHL because he isn’t allowing the same situation to develop. His defence-first philosophy means Ovechkin is often nailed to the bench at crucial points in the game.

LV uk sale Under Boudreau, the least amount of ice time Ovechkin had in the playoffs in their four years together was 19 minutes 32 seconds. He is lucky to get even that much with Hunter. But it’s working. In four of the Caps’ last six playoff games, Ovechkin saw the ice for 17 minutes or less and they won all four. He hit a career-low on Monday with a mere 13:36, but scored the winning goal on a power play in a 3-2 decision over the New York Rangers that tied the second-round series at one a piece. Hunter, who looks as comfortable in front of the cameras as Prime Minister Stephen Harper, even managed some humour, albeit inadvertent, when he was asked about Ovechkin’s ice-time: “The one thing about it is that he has been real fresh for the power play.With the best-of-seven series moving to Washington for Games 3 and 4 beginning Wednesday, the question all are asking is does Hunter give his $9-million (U.S.) man something better than third-line minutes? It depends. If Ovechkin is freelancing too much and defensively slack like he was in Game 1 against the Rangers, then no. If he bangs some bodies around, has the most shots of anyone in the game and is dangerous around the net like he was in Game 2, then maybe.

LV replica uk As for Ovechkin, he says in his own inimitable style that yep, he sure would like to be playing more, but: “How I said before, you have to suck it up and play for team. Sometimes, you just have to put eye in your butt and, you know, play for everybody.” Ovechkin’s body language, as noted in the many television shots of him stewing on the bench, suggests he is not quite as sanguine as he makes out. But with the Capitals so far avoiding yet another postseason meltdown, what is he going to say? It’s the same for team owner Ted Leonsis. The entire resurgence of the Capitals in the last five years was built around Ovechkin. He became the NHL’s most exciting player and biggest attraction, even eclipsing Pittsburgh Penguins rival Sidney Crosby. It cannot be easy for Leonsis to see the focal point of all his marketing efforts playing a supporting role at best even if his team is finally showing some moxie in the playoffs. But, again, what can he say? This only happened because Hunter is in a much different position than other NHL coaches. Boudreau never had the clout to sit Ovechkin on the many occasions he needed it, even as his star was falling in the last two seasons. But Hunter owns a junior team, the London Knights of the OHL, that just happens to be a hockey gold mine. He can tell the owner to stuff it, go back to Ontario, resume coaching the Knights and count his money.

cheap lv sunglasses sale That may still happen even if the Capitals win the Stanley Cup, which is not out of the question given the way these playoffs are going. When general manager George McPhee persuaded his buddy to take a leave of absence from the Knights to help him out, Hunter agreed to try it for the rest of this season, and then we’ll see. For now, it’s Hunter’s way. If the Capitals wind up losing, though, expect Ovechkin to have plenty to say.Department of National Defence officials will soon head to Washington to learn how much cost estimates have ballooned for the F-35 fighter jet, a plane the military still backs despite growing pressure inside and outside of government for a competitive bidding process. Kevin Lindsey, the chief financial officer at the Department of National Defence, said in an interview on Tuesday that he expects Canada to be granted a Pentagon briefing “shortly.” DND sources said the visit will likely take place in early to mid-May. Once the meeting is concluded, the clock starts ticking on the Harper government’s vow to provide Canadians with full life-cycle cost estimates for Lockheed Martin’s controversial F-35 plane within 60 days.

cheap lv travel bags sale The federal government is trying to grapple with public anger over a hard-hitting report from the Auditor-General last month that said National Defence cut corners in selecting the F-35 fighter jet and hid key information on the acquisition from decision makers and parliamentarians. DND officials were only slightly contrite on Tuesday at hearings on the controversy. Speaking in front of MPs, deputy defence minister Rob Fonberg admitted to some mistakes, saying that “with the advantage of hindsight and with the AG’s observations in mind, there are clearly things we would have managed differently in the program and things that all of us could have done better.” A few minutes later, Lieutenant-General André Deschamps, commander of the Canadian Air Force, made it clear the military is not budging from its recommendation to buy the F-35 despite the Harper government’s pledge to restart the acquisition process. National Defence is coming under pressure within government to consider whether Canada should buy a different plane. “The bottom line is that tomorrow’s operating environment will require stealth, the ability to sense and process vast quantities of information in a very short time, and to be able to operate with others, starting with our closest allies, anywhere around the globe,” Lt.-Gen. Deschamps said.

cheap lv watches sale Liberal MP Gerry Byrne said the Conservatives are misleading Canadians by promising to restart the strike-fighter purchase but then not considering other options. “They’re not looking at any other aircraft other than the F-35,” he said. “In plain speak, they have bought the F-35 [already] because it’s a done deal,” he said. “The government continues to betray the truth.” Mr. Fonberg also rejected Parliamentary budget watchdog Kevin Page’s $29-billion cost estimate for the F-35 program, saying his department is sticking with its forecast of $15-billion for the acquisition and sustainment over 20 years. He insisted that long-term operating costs for the jets, still eight years from delivery, will be “firmed up over time,” but will be similar to those for the existing fleet of CF-18s. Mr. Fonberg, who at times appeared peeved by questions, said his department was not ready to determine the exact cost of the program over its planned 36-year lifespan, saying that using 20-year estimates is a well-entrenched practice at DND that prevents risky, long-term predictions.“Life-cycle costing is not a simple issue,” Mr. Fonberg said. Mr. Fonberg was also critical of the work of the Parliamentary Budget Officer, saying that Mr. Page “did the best he could,” while cautioning that the watchdog’s estimate was based on “significantly inflated” costs for the acquisition of the aircraft. DND said it stands by its assumption that each of its 65 F-35 fighter jets will cost $85-million.

cheap lv purses sale Still, NDP MP Malcolm Allen said the government’s publicly stated cost for the project is well below internal figures of $25-billion, which include operating costs such as fuel and pilots over 20 years.“You told cabinet it was $25-billion, and you told the Canadian public that it was $10-billion less,” Mr. Allen said. But Mr. Sarkozy cast them in a dim light, warning that they could result in France becoming a Spain or a Greece. He called for a new, business-friendly economic model: “A new French model where success is not regarded with suspicion, one based on merit and talent.”This was almost exactly the campaign message that Mr. Sarkozy had delivered in 2007 – and, tellingly, his speech did not include the laundry list of accomplishments that an incumbent with five years in office might be expected to lay out in a re-election campaign. There was almost no mention of his policy accomplishments – in good part because French voters are furious with the failed economic growth, rising unemployment and spiralling debt that have marked Mr. Sarkozy’s tenure.It now appears that Mr. Sarkozy’s strategy is to replace that anger with fear – to make voters hesitate at the prospect of a “France that flies the red flag instead of the Tricolour,” as he repeatedly said Tuesday. He now has a few days, a sequence of rallies and one crucial debate, to make that strategy work.