ARLINGTON, VAKarl Alzner smiled and welcomed the opportunity to clear the air about his crybaby message to Milan Lucic. It all came down in the third period of Monday nights Game 3 win for the Bruins during a monstrous scrum in front of the Washington net.The Washington defenseman had been part of three Capitals players holding back Lucic after the Bruins power forward had been crosschecked in the back by Dennis Wideman.
The TV cameras caught Alzner putting his glove up to his eyes like he was wiping away tears as he looked at Lucic while the Bs forward was protesting a penalty call going against him.
Most observers took it to mean Alzner was calling Lucic a crybaby for complaining about getting cross-checked.
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But the Capitals defenseman said it was all about the penalty called on the ice following Wednesdays practice at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. Alzner actually grew up near Lucic in British Columbia and played on a couple of summer league hockey teams with the young Vancouver power forward.
So Alzner said hes well aware of Lucics awesome destructive force, and has a relationship with him that goes back 10 years or more.
We played with and against each other as kids in Vancouver. That just goes to show you there are no such things as friends during the playoffs, said Alzner. Hes got to be one of the top 10 one of the toughest guys in the league pound-for-pound and everybody knows that.
We played spring hockey with and against each other for the Vancouver Venom and the Spring Nationalsand then again in juniors when he was in Van. We have some of the same friends, so well see each other a little bit in the summertime in Vancouver. We know each other, but the playoffs bring out a different character in everybody.
Whichever character the Washington defenseman decides to be, Alzner said he wants no part of Lucic if the Bs left winger came looking for blood in Game 4.
It was funny because I said something on twitter a while ago that if Alzner and Lucic were ever to fight Id obviously winhaha. With haha being obvious sarcasm, said Alzner. I dont think anybody understood that, but he is not a guy that I would want to fight. Thats for sure.
Furthermore Alzner said Lucic was entirely accurate to point out his two roughing penalties in three years in Mondays postgame as evidence the Washington D-man probably shouldnt be talking smack to him.
One is a defenseman known more flinging pucks over the boards for delay of game penalties than rough stuff, and the other was voted by his peers as the toughest player in the NHL two months ago.
He uses that against me all the time, said Alzner with a smile, referencing the few roughing calls in his career. Hes exactly right. This is probably a good time to explain. My actions werent calling him a baby. We all know hes one of the toughest guys in the league. It was more just that a lot of guys are complaining about calls out there, and theres nothing we can do about it once the call is made.
A lot of people took it the wrong way. But things happen in the playoffs and sometimes you take things too far. Its just funny that it got caught on camera and with pictures. It became more than it was meant to be, but guys get intense and heated in the playoffs. Im sure he understands.
Alzner said the only words that came out of his mouth were: stop complaining about the calls.
Lucic admitted during Wednesdays practice that he knows Alzner well enough to say hello when they bump into each other socially. But the Bs power forward also said he doesnt do much chatting on the ice with the Washington defenseman or anybody for that matter when it comes playoff-time.
I dont do all that much talking out on the ice, said Lucic, who still didnt seem too wild about Alzners actions two days later. But if I do its not going to be a friendly conversation.
The Caps defenseman said that Lucic is very similar now to the player he played with when they were teenagers in Vancouver. The effort, the intensity and the air of intimidation were all there when he was working his way up through the ranks of Vancouver youth hockey.Its what Alzner thinks allowed Lucic to ultimately make it.
Hes a very similar player. He is a guy that works and gets things done, said Alzner. He doesnt stop and he doesnt understand the word No. He just goes through that and fights through it. Hes always been that way.
For me it was a good feeling to see him make it in the NHL because I talked to him a little bit in minor hockey. He played on a team in Killarney that wasnt one of the stronger teams and it was frustrating. But then he got a chance with the Coquitlam Express and made it major junior with the Vancouver Giants. For me it was nice to see somebody that worked their way up. You have a lot of respect for the guys that work really hard to make it.That respect for Lucic had a funny way of showing itself when Alzner chose the crocodile tears routine with the fearsome Bs forward on Monday night.
But at least he respects Lucic enough to know he wants nothing to do with dropping the gloves against him, and thats a start.