Ovie says no

How can you tell that it's been a long season for Washington's Alexander Ovechkin? When he flat-out refuses a child's request to sign a jersey.

Granted, had he signed, it only would've been a "AO8." Still, though, if you're hounding the Washington Capitals, you're really looking for only three players -- Olaf Kolzig, Alexander Semin and Ovechkin. The other players are good to get, but it's always nice to snag the stars, too.

Despite Ovechkin's snub, Colin did pretty good, getting 10 players, including Semin to sign. Others players signing included Chris Clark, Steve Eminger and Mike Green.

We never saw Kolzig. He tends to slip out the side door of the team's hotel in downtown Tampa. It's too bad, too, because I has an old red-white-and-blue Washington Capitals and Tri-City Americans (a Western Hockey League junior team that he once played for and now owns a stake in) pucks.

It was also fun to catch up with Capitals defenseman Milan Jurcina, a former Bruins player. He said he's enjoying himself "much more" with Washington than Boston. Getting a regular shift helps, I suppose.