Capitals-Penguins: Alexander Ovechkin in the Middle, Sergei Gonchar Hit!

The most-entertaining and talked about second-round series took an ugly turn for the worse on Thursday, when it was revealed that Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin received a death threat.

All hockey fans, no matter who you root for, should be excited in the anticipation during this Eastern Conference semifinal match up between two young powerhouse teams in the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals.

So far this series, which is tied 2-2, has lived up to its top billing. In Game Two fans got to witness a rare treat, as Washington star Alex Ovechkin scored a hat trick along with Penguins star Sidney Crosby.

Stepping up in Game Three was another Pittsburgh superstar in Evgeni Malkin, who entertained fans with his dazzling rushes and highlight-reel goal.

All the excitement and anticipation of what would happen in Game Four Friday night and beyond was sadly curtailed when it was revealed that Ovechkin, who has 13 playoff points this spring, received a death threat.

After some investigative work, it was determined by the Pittsburgh police and NHL security that the threat, which was on a Penguins message board, sadly came from a 17-year-old teenager residing in Chambersburg, PA.

Even though police officials believe that the 23-year-old Capitals superstar, who registered 110 points this year, wasn’t in any grave danger, they are still deciding whether to press criminal charges.

The boy, whose name can’t be given due to being a juvenile, typed the alarming message saying, “I’m killing Ovechkin...I’ll go to jail: I don’t care anymore.”

Right away, the Penguins heard about the alarming message.  That’s when they did the right thing in calling the authorities, NHL and the Capitals. Ovechkin has five goals in the first four games of this series, was told about the threat but declined to comment.

Added to this, Ovechkin was in the middle of controversy with his knee-on-knee hit to Sergei Gonchar. Gonchar is a game-time decision, but the hit looked rather suspect. Ovechkin probably did not intend to hit Gonchar with his knee, but Gonchar shifted to the left and both knees collided.

Gonchar had the worse of the hit and now is battling severe pain. The report was more optimistic today than originally thought, and Gonchar has not been ruled out for tonight’s Game Five contest in Washington.