Photo credit: Sport-Express

When you’re super-famous, I guess you get asked to do some bizarre things. Alex Ovechkin has danced to shill for Eastern Motors, operated as hypeman for his boy Sasha Belyi, and modeled to promote a winter clothing-line for Nike. General rule: if Ovi is doing something other than hockey, minds are gonna get blown.

That’s why I was intrigued when news broke that Ovi and his compatriots sang to promote the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. How would his voice sound? Tenor or baritone? Could he possibly improve on the lyrical perfection of Champion? We didn’t know. We had only photos.

Until now.

YouTube User Alex12TV has published video of Ovechkin, Evgeny Malkin, Ilya Nikulin, Ilya Kovalchuk, Nikolai Kulemin, and Alex Radulov singing “Shaybu, Shaybu” with Russian pop star Irina Allegrova. It is delightful. In particular, I’m a fan of Alex Radulov’s air-drumming, Ovechkin’s excited hand motions, and — in general — the screaming, off-pitch singing.

And thanks to RMNB’s Fedor Fedin, here are the translated lyrics of the chorus.

Shaybu, shaybu
The victory is ours
Shaybu, shaybu
Guys, we’re with you
And if we need it a lot, we’ll score again
Shaybu, shaybu
Russia is behind us

Fedor also wrote this wonderful post a few years ago explaining what shaybu, shaybu means.

On January 13th, the KHL will host their fifth annual All-Star game at Cheylabinsk’s Traktor Sport Palace and two Washington Capitals players (that we wish were in DC right now) have been voted into the starting line-up by fans: Team West’s Alex Ovechkin and Team East’s Evgeny Kuznetsov. The exhibition, which is set to be played in Kuznetov’s hometown, will mark the first time that the Caps legend and his protégé have suited up against one another — well, that is if the NHL lockout rages on for another month. And if there’s a just and loving God, it won’t!

Despite enduring a prolonged slump for the past five weeks, Kuznetsov was emphatically voted in as a starter for the second straight year and nearly eclipsed the Russian machine in votes: Ovechkin recieved 31,935 votes while Kuzya got 30,248. Meanwhile, Evgeny Malkin was the only player to eclipse the 40 thousand mark, garnering a league-high 40,569 votes. I guess Biznasty’s PR campaign on his behalf worked.

Two former Capitals were also voted in as starters. Semyon Varlamov will man the pipes for Team West, while Sergei Gonchar was named to Team East’s first defensive pairing. Nicklas Backstrom, somehow, was not among the top ten leading forwards of Team West. Though I’m going to blame stupid Dynamo Minsk fans who got their entire team’s first line in the top ten of voting: Tim Stapleton, Joe Pavelski, and Teemu Laine.

Meanwhile, the next stage of the selection process involves Russian journalists, who will select each team’s second lines. That voting will go on from December 17-21. Then on Christmas Eve, the KHL will reveal the full rosters.

Below, I’ve included the graphics for the starters of Team East and Team West and the full voting results via khlallstar.com .

Starters

Team East Starters: Datsyuk, Ovechkin, Kovalchuk, Chara, Ryazantsev, and Varlamov. Team West Starters: Malkin, Kuznetsov, Kostitsyn, Nikulin, Gonchar, and Garnett

Vote Totals

Photo credit: Sport-Express

Everybody loves a triple threat. Example: Brian Austin Green. Dude can act and rap . Not only that, he can marry well too. He is living the American dream.

Then there’s Alex Ovechkin. Not only does our Russian savior crush opponents and score sick goals on the regular, he’s also an up-and-coming musician. Surely you’ve heard him rap. If there were an iPod in heaven, Sasha Belyi’s Champion would be on eternal repeat.

So imagine our joy on Tuesday when Russian websites reported that Ovechkin was making music again.

With the KHL on a break for the EuroHockeyTour’s Channel One Cup in Moscow, members of the Russian national team gathered in Novogorsk for a team camp. Instead of practicing on Tuesday night however, head coach Zinetula Bilyaletdinov ordered his star players to drop their sticks and pick up the microphones so that they could contribute vocals to two Sochi Olympics-inspired songs Shaybu-Shaybu and We Are The Red Machine. While Russian pop star Irina Allegrova did all of the heavy-lifting, Ovechkin, Pavel Datsyuk, Ilya Kovalchuk, Evgeny Malkin, Alex Radulov, and Ilya Nikulin formed a make-shift choir and sang backing vocals. Please, someone leak the MP3′s. We need to hear this.

Now let’s enjoy some excellent photos from the event published by Sport-Express.

Photos

Russian players also received their rings for winning the World Championship last year. See the entire gallery here.

GIF

Created by WelshHockeyFan.

Additional reporting by Fedor Fedin.

Ovi celebrates his goal. (Photo credit: Championat.com/Getty Images)

Despite allowing the first goal, the Russians dominated the Finns for almost the whole game, winning 6-2. Evgeny Malkin scored a hat trick, while Alex Ovechkin, Denis Kokarev and Sergei Shirokov each added a goal of their own.

Ovechkin scored in the second period through a screen set by teammate Alexander Perezhogin, eluding several defenders to put the puck over Finnish goalie Petri Vehanen’s shoulder. It’s his second goal in two games played since joining the national team in Sweden.

Alex Semin did not appear on the scoresheet, and had no shots on goal. Evgeny Kuznetsov played in 2:26 TOI in three shifts, all in the third period. Semyon Varlamov made 29 saves in the win.

The Russian team will play Slovakia in the gold medal game on Sunday. It begins at 12:15 EST tomorrow.

Video of Alex Ovechkin’s Goal

Photos

Photo credit: Andre Ringuette/IIHF

More Hunter Hockey from Alex Semin. (Photo credit: Championat.com/Getty Images)

Varly makes a pad save on a shot by Mikael Granlund, as Sasha Minor looks on. (Photo credit: Jeff Vinnick)

Ovi goes for a big hit. (Photo credit: Championat.com/Getty Images)

Malkin in pain. (Photo credit: rsport.ru)

Malkin scores. (Photo credit: rsport.ru)

Malkin celebrates his hat trick. (Photo credit: Jeff Vinnick)

The ice crew collects the hats thrown by fans. (Photo credit: rsport.ru)

Varly celebrates the win. (Photo credit: Championat.com/Getty Images)

Semin hugs Varly. Angry Bird comes onto the ice! (Photo credit: rsport.ru)

The hand-shake line. (Photo credit: Andre Ringuette)

Ovi and Malkin watch the Russian flag rise as their National Anthem is played. (Photo credit: Jeff Vinnick)

Ovi speaks to reporters after the game. (Photo credit: photo.khl.ru)

Semin too! (Photo credit: photo.khl.ru)

[Editors note: over the next month, we'll be looking at the challenges the Capitals face, the trade deadline, and the playoff chase. It's not gonna be fun, but we gotta do this.]

When Nick Backstrom took a blow to the head from Rene Bourque on January 3rd, the Capitals lost the service of their number-one center. Backstrom was on track for a better than 80-point season, which would have been a strong recovery from the slump of ’10-’11. Instead, the team lost the anchor for its top line and its most productive forward.

Without Backstrom, the Capitals have only three strong options for centers: Marcus Johansson, Brooks Laich, Jeff Halpern. Additionally, Mathieu Perreault, Cody Eakin, and Matt Hendricks have done center duty in a pinch. Meanwhile, the Capitals offense has  been shut out twice in the last three games and have averaged only 23 shots on goal since mid-December. That’s just not good enough.

Marcus Johansson is a talented skater who has a bright future, but he cannot be expected to put up more than 20 goals or 50 points so early in his career. He’s not yet the offensive presence that the first (or even second) line demands, and he’s still a liability on the face-off dot (winning a little over 43%).

Brooks Laich is a team leader and an admirably committed defensive forward. His penalty kill service– sometimes stickless– has distinguished him on the Capitals’ end of the ice, where he starts most shifts. But Brooks’ scoring output is flat this season (8G, 15A). Besides, he is only an ersatz centerman who has spent most of his career on the wing. Laich’s move to center — either on the 2nd or 3rd lines– was a move of necessity.

The once and current Capital Jeff Halpern is the third best face-off guy in the NHL (behind Pavelski and Toews). George McPhee may not have been looking for a replacement for Dave Steckel (who is ranked 5th) last summer, but he got one anyway. Halpern’s solidarity on the dot and modest offensive lean have made him one of the best surprises of the season, but he hasn’t been a top-6 forward in years.

Compare that to the Pittsburgh Penguins, a team notoriously strong up the middle: Jordan Staal, Sidney Crosby (when healthy), Evgeni Malkin, and even Tyler Kennedy supply the core of the Pittsburgh offense. It’s common wisdom that building a good hockey team starts from the center position, but the Capitals are hollow between their wings.

And the Capitals can’t look elsewhere in the organization for help. Keith Aucoin is certainly a future AHL Hall of Famer, but his NHL window has come and gone. Ryan Potulny has NHL experience at center but– at age 27– is in a situation similar to Aucoin. Mattias Sjogren threw a hissy fit last year and left North America. RMNB phenom Evgeny Kuznetsov is prolific, but he’s weak on the face-off and will require some adjustment to his defensive game when he makes the jump. The pipeline is not strong.

Since Sergei Fedorov left North America at the end of the 2009 season, the Capitals have been without a solid second line center. Now that Nick Backstrom is injured, the Ovechkin line is anchorless as well. Guys like Jason Arnott, Eric Belanger, Michael Nylander, Victor Kozlov, and Tomas Fleischmann yielded varying results at center and could not be sustained.

The Capitals have tried training Marcus Johansson on the job as a top line center. They tried moving Brooks Laich off of the wing. They tried giving the grinding expert Jeff Halpern a chance at the big time. Nothing has worked. The lack of viable centers on the Washington roster is George McPhee’s lasting disappointment. Now that the Washington Capitals are firing fewer shots than at any point since the lockout, the lack of a strong playmaking center is more pronounced than ever.

2011-2012 shot total is a projection based on shots through game 46.

Acquiring a center before the deadline will not be easy, and it will not come cheap. But it’s desperately needed for the immediate and long-term needs of this team.

What do you think McPhee should do?

Additional reporting by Ian Oland.

Sheepvechkin! (Illustration by Rachel Cohen)

Today is Halloween, which for me means less than one month until my birthday! Yay! Oh wait — I mean, dressing up, eating candy, and looking like a tool. To celebrate the holiday right, we figured we’d do a Halloween-themed post.

I’ll be honest: when I heard Chris Gordon‘s demand to solicit Caps-themed jack-o-lanterns, I thought we’d get maybe four images and this post would be a total disaster. Three days and 50 emails later, holy lord did you guys come through in a BIG way. (I guess that’s why he contributes to the New York Times, and I don’t.)

We’ve got Caps logos, we’ve got Ovi heads, and we’ve got 10 million Weagle-carved pumpkins. Follow me past the jump to check out the gallery.

Oh yeah. Homeowners, please remember: the more Mr. Big bars you give out to the kids tonight, the more goals Ovechkin will score on Tuesday. So don’t be stingy. And kids, show no restraint in eating your candy when you get home. Sugar is good for you, no matter what your parents say. Eat it all in one night. Dive into those Kit-Kats and Milky Ways like Alex Ovechkin dives into the boards after scoaring. Type II diabetes be damned.

The Creatively Carved Pumpkins

Justine K.’s Mike Green Painted and Carved Pumpkin

Katie W.’s Caps Pumpkins

Katie’s explanation of her submission cracked me up: “Go Caps!! … and Freddie Mercury. Freddie loves the Caps too.” Sure. Why not?

Chris Gardner’s RMNB-inspired Pumpkins

That last design is by @nazarcruce. Awesome!

Caps Painted Pumpkins by Josie G. (@jgoggs23)

Here’s Josie’s explanation on why she didn’t actually carve anything. “I only had a chance to paint… I KNOW it is nothing like that really cool RMNBesque jack o lantern of Ovi’s face, but I tried!” It’s like the hard hat the Caps give out after every game. Totally works!

Libby D.’s Caps-Carved Pumpkins Featuring a Special Guest

Creative and awesome because… Look at the cat! Also she totally sucked up in her email: “First off, let me just say that you are hands-down my favorite Caps blog. That’s not just ego-stroking so you’ll view my pumpkins more favorably (okay fine, maybe 80/20), I really enjoy reading your stuff – always so entertaining! The picture even includes a seasonally-appropriate orange kitty.” Thanks, Libby.

Chris C.’s Stanley Cup Pumpkin

To everyone in Chris’s neighborhood, please make sure to stay at least an arm’s length away from this thing!

Joey W. Gives Us Caveman Backstrom

The Ovechkin-Inspired Pumpkins

Linnea W.’s Angry Ovi Face

I literally almost fell out of my chair when I first saw this. Incredible work, Linnea!

Daniel C.’s beautiful Ovi Head

So good, I thought this was photoshopped at first.

Alli K.’s Tribute to our Website Header

In my heart of hearts, this is the grand-prize winner if we were to call this a contest. Which we’re totally not. But man, look at that detail. Thanks, Alli!

Jenna M.’s Half-Cut off Ovi Head

so sick hahaha))))

Justine K.’s Great 8 Pumpkin

The Caps Logo Pumpkins

Via Julie R. (@H8Crosby)

Via Morgan C.

Via Jamie N.

Via Cecilia V.

Via LuAyne B.

Via an Anonymous reader

Weagles, Weagles, and MORE Weagles

Behold! Neil Greenberg‘s first ever carved pumpkin.

We also assume Nicci U. had the primary assist here. Great job, guys.

Via Vivian F.

We loved the note she sent us: “Hey guys! Love the blog. I’m a student at McGill University – smack dab in the middle of Habs (ew) territory. Carved this one and set it right outside of my residence for all of Montreal to see. Let’s go Caps!” Awesome.

Via Wendi O.

Via Monte F.

Great photo!

Via Jackie Q.

Jackie tells us that she carved this with her girls. Great jorb.

Via Elana L.

Via Amsi H.

Amsi told us in her email, “I’m not too happy with it, but it’s my first pumpkin carving ever.” This is way better than anything I’ve carved in ten-plus years of trying. And I’m technically an artist. Great job!

Via Chad S.

Via Rebecca S.

Via Cecilia V.

Via Joshua G.

The Capitol dome’s a nice touch!

Via Laura S.

Haha. It looks like the pumpkin has newspaper shoes! I’m immature. Thanks, Laura. Ignore me.

Via Emily J.

Via Michelle P.

Via Allison C.

Via Scott M.

Via Scott W.

Via Brad P. (@StopTheHats)

Via Brendon D.

Via an Anonymous reader

And we can’t forget Hershey. Here’s SHOE‘s own Brian Mills and his Bears-0-lantern.

Which ones did you like the best? Let us know in the comments, and thanks to everyone who shared your pumpkins.