Top Shelf: Boudreau, Ovechkin still chasing respect

May 13, 2015 - 6:21 PM Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Bruce Boudreau has been a good hockey coach for a long time, but there are many people who have convinced themselves otherwise.

The same can be said about Boudreau's former pupil, Alex Ovechkin.

Both Boudreau and Ovechkin are victims of their own success. Boudreau's teams, which included Ovechkin's Washington Capitals for parts of five seasons from 2007-12, have had a tendency to soar during the regular season only to crash out of the playoffs earlier than expected.

However, this spring with the Anaheim Ducks, the outspoken bench boss has finally earned a small measure of respect for making it past the second round of the postseason for the first time in his NHL career. It's certainly a load off his shoulders, but if Boudreau's Ducks don't keep on winning, he knows his detractors will only move the goalposts on him.

"It's a relief that I won't get asked that question anymore," Boudreau said about never making it to the conference finals until now.

"I'm sure now it will be, 'Well, you've never been to the Cup final.'"

Boudreau hopes to check that Stanley Cup Finals appearance off his last in the next round when his Ducks take on the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference finals.

Ovechkin, meanwhile, is hoping to join his former coach in the third round for the first time in a career which has been long on personal accomplishments and short on playoff success.

Like Boudreau, Ovechkin has a chance to make it further than he ever has in the postseason. All his Capitals need to do is beat the New York Rangers in Wednesday's Game 7 at Madison Square Garden, but that task is easier said than done.

Although the Caps and Rangers have played an extremely tight Eastern Conference semifinal series in which each game has been decided by only one goal, recent history strongly suggests New York has everything going in its favor when the puck drops Wednesday night in the Big Apple.

Here's a few of the facts Washington is up against:

- New York has won an NHL-record nine straight games at home when facing elimination and is 13-3 in its last 16 elimination games overall.

- New York is 6-0 all-time in Game 7s on home ice.

- New York goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has won his last five Game 7s, becoming the only goalie in NHL history who has won five consecutive Game 7s.

- Lundqvist is 9-0 with a 0.97 goals against average and .968 save percentage in nine career games at MSG when his team is facing elimination.

In spite of all this, Ovechkin made a guarantee after his team lost Sunday's Game 6 on home ice, saying the Caps were "going to come back and win the series."

Many folks have scoffed at the Russian winger's prediction, but Ovechkin didn't back down from it on Tuesday.

"Like I said, we're going to New York and finish out the series," he reiterated. "That's what I mean. I don't care what everybody thinks."

Of course, there isn't much for Ovechkin to lose by guaranteeing a win on Wednesday. If he didn't make one and Washington lost, critics would still say the superstar couldn't get it done in the playoffs. Making a guarantee isn't going to make the heat Ovechkin will face for another disappointment any more intense.

But if Washington wins Game 7, then Ovechkin gets to look like a genius, and, like Boudreau, he earns a brief respite from the ridicule usually hurled at him this time of year.

Perhaps the most important thing about Ovechkin's guarantee was that it overshadowed a more ridiculous statement made by his young teammate Evgeny Kuznetsov, who made the outrageous claim that Washington was going to take Game 7 because "our goalie's better."

Come again?

Braden Holtby is a promising young goaltender who is having an excellent postseason, but to say he is better than Lundqvist is truly laughable. That goes for any situation. The fact that this is a Game 7 in New York City only makes Kuznetsov's claim even sillier.

One thing is certain, Ovechkin's and Kuznetsov's comments have added some hype heading into Wednesday's battle, but Game 7s need little help in that department.

Although separated by Boudreau's firing a few seasons ago, Ovechkin and his former coach are still linked by their playoff frustrations. The coach has made it further than he ever has, but the criticisms won't stop until he wins it all.

That goes double for Ovechkin. Like Charles Barkley in the NBA or Dan Marino in the NFL, Washington's franchise player will never get all the respect due him if he doesn't deliver a championship.

Ovechkin can't end the debate with a win on Wednesday night, but he does need a victory to keep those championship dreams alive.

If he loses, the only guarantee is we'll be hearing from all the people who say Ovechkin is good, but not good enough.