By now you have certainly heard that Alex Ovechkin was fined $2,500 for his hit on Atlanta’s Rich Peverley in Thursday’s game against the Thrashers. Those looking to paint Ovechkin as a dirty player or a repeat offender need to get a different brush and a new bucket of paint.

Colin Campbell, the NHL’s czar of discipline, came right out and stated that Ovechkin is “not a repeat offender.”

As Japers’ Rink astutely points out, Ovechkin has 847 career hits that have produced one instance of supplementary discipline. He is not a dirty player.

“He was trying to get position on him,” says Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “And his leg came up, but I don’t think it was like, ‘I’m going to slew-foot the guy to get the penalty.’ He was trying to lean in to get the puck and his leg came out.

“It’s a dangerous play. I’m glad the league is looking at those things.”

Ovi plays as hard as anyone who has ever played the game, but he doesn’t play with malice.

“I don’t think whatever Alex does there is a thought of injury,” continues Boudreau. “He plays really hard, and he plays to go get the pucks. I don’t think it’s going to change the way he plays. I don’t think anything he does is malicious.”

Not sure how much of a deterrent the $2,500 fine will be. That’s the equivalent of a $13.89 fine to someone who makes $50K a year. 

Of more immediate importance to the Capitals is tonight’s tilt against the 1-4-3 Islanders. Washington is 5-2-2, but it has led in all nine of its games and has let a few late leads erode in its wins. Tonight, the Caps will try to play a full 60 minutes and keep it buttoned down throughout.

“It’s just keeping their focus the whole time and not having lapses,” says Boudreau. “And when we decide to play a game with no lapses, we’ll be a good hockey club. But when you play for 50 minutes, in 10 minutes if you’re not ready a lot of things can happen. It took Atlanta a minute and a half [Thursday] to pretty well self-destruct.”

“Sixty minutes is so important.”