Alexander Alexeyev Comments After Losing Several Teeth in Physical Game 1 Against the Canadiens
Photo credit: Washington Hockey Now
The Washington Capitals are a tough team, and Alexander Alexeyev exemplifies that as he now addresses the play that cost him several teeth in Game 1.
The Washington Capitals pulled out a dramatic overtime victory over the Montreal Canadiens in Game 1 of their series, but it was much more competitive than one expected.
While the Capitals were the much more physical team, it took a toll on them as well, as Alexander Alexeyev lost several teeth in a puck battle with Montreal's Jake Evans that left his mouth bloodied in a brutal scene.
Now, the Capitals star has addressed the situation, and unsurprisingly, he simply chalks it up to playoff hockey, giving no blame to Evans who simply missed in his attempt to clear the puck, making contact with Alexeyev's mouth instead:
"It just was a battle for the puck, everyone's coming for the puck... I guess it's just hockey. It happens.
"That's right, it's playoff hockey."
Alexeyev himself wasn't shy about hitting an opponent in the mouth either, as he drew plenty of backlash for a cross-check to the face of Brendan Gallagher, setting the tone for the type of brutal, hard-hitting series this will certainly be.
This was just Game 1, and while Washington remain the favourite in the series, given how close the OT matchup was, Montreal have come to play, so don't be shocked to see this one take a few more than four games to resolve the issues between these teams.
Ultimately, hockey is a brutal, physical sport, and there's plenty of danger for things to go wrong on a nightly basis, and given the amount of teeth we've seen players lose over the years, it's no surprise that this happened in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with Alexeyev now set to wear a face shield moving forward.
"That's right, it's playoff hockey."
Alexeyev himself wasn't shy about hitting an opponent in the mouth either, as he drew plenty of backlash for a cross-check to the face of Brendan Gallagher, setting the tone for the type of brutal, hard-hitting series this will certainly be.
This was just Game 1, and while Washington remain the favourite in the series, given how close the OT matchup was, Montreal have come to play, so don't be shocked to see this one take a few more than four games to resolve the issues between these teams.
Ultimately, hockey is a brutal, physical sport, and there's plenty of danger for things to go wrong on a nightly basis, and given the amount of teeth we've seen players lose over the years, it's no surprise that this happened in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with Alexeyev now set to wear a face shield moving forward.
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 23 | 328 ANSWERS Alexander Alexeyev Comments After Losing Several Teeth in Physical Game 1 Against the Canadiens Is hockey the toughest mainstream sport to play in the world? | ||
| Yes | 281 | 85.7 % |
| No | 47 | 14.3 % |
| List of polls | ||
