Crosby, McDavid, Ovechkin, Tarasenko, Panarin— what do these five have in common? The “oh fuck off” factor. This is when they get the puck and you immediately almost throw up because you know they have the talent to go coast to coast whenever the fuck they want. I first truly understood the “oh fuck off” factor when Kovalchuk was on the Thrashers. Everytime he touched the puck I knew something bad was about to happen and all I could do is hope and pray that Hank got a piece of whatever Ilya was shooting. I mean, check out these clips.
And my personal favorite, when he told Sidney Crosby to grow up.
Now Ilya dicked over the Devils (kudos to you, who would ever want to play in that dump), went to the KHL for a few years and decided to come back to LA. There were tons of people questioning if Ilya still has it. Guess what. He does.
Kopitar, Carter, Toffoli, Brown, Pearson, and now Kovalchuk?
If I’m a member of a Western Conference defense I am marking whatever day I play the Kings on the calendar and calling in sick.
The Morning Skate 
One thought