What Ovi's Fight Means

While the Washington Capitals were on their way to a sixth straight loss, something happened in the second period that could change this team's season: Alexander Ovechkin dropped the gloves.

Ovechkin went after and cleanly finished a check on a New York Rangers defenceman. Rangers' forward Brandon Dubinsky took exception, they dropped the gloves, and the rest was history. View it here.

Too often now, we see a fourth line no-name come into the mix and set the tone. Sometimes this is appropriate, no one wants their best player in the box for five minutes every few games.

However, it is great to see an all-star and top player in the world initiating and battling all the way through a fight.

Going through a losing streak Capitals fans are not accustomed to the last few years with the team's success, this can be an essential factor into righting the ship.

From personal experience, teammates feed off of this kind of action. It's a wake up call to say what is happening on the ice (Ovechkin included) is unacceptable and it has to stop while simultaneously releasing pent up frustration.

It should be interesting to see how the Capitals respond in their next few games. If a fight by their franchise player and captain does not inspire them, it's going to be hard to figure out what will.