Here's the source of Don Fruitcake's fuming

 By Damien Cox, Mar. 20, 2009 "Russian trend focusing on quality, not quantity":

Alexander Ovechkin, the game's leading goal-scorer and most charismatic player, and Evgeni Malkin, the NHL's scoring leader, are automatic. After that, there will be some debate, but a prominent player in that conversation would be the best player on the league's best team, centre Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings.

Sitting fourth in league scoring behind Malkin, Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Ovechkin, Datsyuk is miles ahead of those three in plus-minus, with a plus-30 rating. Moreover, while Ovechkin and Malkin are one-two in ice time among NHL forwards, Datsyuk sits a distant 49th.

Imagine what he could do if Mike Babcock sent him over the boards more often.

Now some would put New Jersey's Zach Parise ahead of Datsyuk for the Hart, or even Columbus rookie goalie Steve Mason, or perhaps towering defenceman Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins.

But Ovechkin – he and Sergei Fedorov (1994) are the only Russian winners in Hart Trophy history – Malkin and Datsyuk are unquestionably three of the top 10 players in the league, and if you include Atlanta winger Ilya Kovalchuk, four of the top seven scorers in the NHL are from Russia.

Canada and Russia, meanwhile, are in different pools in Vancouver, but clearly a collision in one of the playoff rounds or the gold-medal game would produce arguably the biggest hockey game on Canadian soil since 1972.

And Russia might go in with the most powerful guns.

And look at the comment:

Cherry will be steaming at you on this one Damien

Submitted by Hops at 5:30 AM Friday, March 20 2009

What is it, Don 'Canadian KGB' Cherry? Scary...

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