Sharks Gameday: Oven Chicken

by Mike Chen on Dec 30, 2009 10:44 AM PST

Washington Capitals (24-9-6) at San Jose Sharks (24-8-7), 7:00 PM PST

(Update: Forgot to note the 7:00 start.)

If you haven't heard, Patrick Marleau, Dany Heatley, Joe Thornton, and Dan Boyle are all on Team Canada. Add in Douglas Murray (Sweden), Evgeni Nabokov (Russia), Thomas Greiss (Germany), and most likely Joe Pavelski (USA) and that's a whole heck of a lot of injury concerns. But it'll be fun to watch, right?

In any case, we've got the Washington Capitals with Olympian Alexander Ovechkin and non-Olympian Mike Green. Green's a hell of a player, but I have to question why his taste in web design doesn't stray too far from the Jersey Shore motif. Ever since I saw that, that's all I can think about with him.

When it comes to Ovechkin, though, I always think of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Strange, right? It stems from a few years back during the Ovechkin/Crosby rookie year of 2005-06. One of my buddies popped into a sports collectible store in San Jose (I want to think that it's the one by Chuck E. Cheese off Kooser and Meridian but I could be wrong). He was looking at some of the hockey stuff on display and the owner was commenting about how good the oven chicken was.

Dumbfounded, my friend looked around and realized he was the only person in the store besides the owner. He politely said, "Excuse me?" and the owner repeated his statement about how good the oven chicken was.

Since there was a KFC across the street from the shop, my friend thought he was referring to that -- though this was before they offered oven-baked chicken, so he was a little confused. He smiled and nodded and continued browsing at the hockey stuff.

Finally, the owner goes, "Yeah, you know, everyone's all hyped up on Sidney Crosby, but that Oven Chicken guy is even better."

Ah, yes. This is before Alexander Ovechkin became pretty well known in the casual sporting world, so this shop owner, as well meaning as he was, butchered Ovechkin's name by inserting a few extra syllables into it, thus making it sound like Oven Chicken.

To this day, my friends and I refer to Ovechkin as Oven Chicken, or Oven for short. (As in "Did you see Oven's goal last night?")

The Capital I'd Like On My Team: Kentucky Oven Chicken, of course!

Prediction: Sharks 5, Caps 3. Goals by Team Canada -- Boyle, Marleau (2), Thornton, and Heatley.

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Comments

Oven Chicken … that’s hilarious!

Ever get the feeling we are on a collision course with reality? (boycott Hollywood!)

by ang6666 on Dec 30, 2009 11:06 AM PST reply actions

Indeed. I can fully support this sort of nonsense.

http://www.battleofcali.com/

by Earl Sleek on Dec 30, 2009 1:54 PM PST up reply actions

Holy crap, Chen, I once stated that the NHL should change certain players’ foreign names to more palatable American names and one of those choices? Alex Oven. Craziness.

When I'm not battling in California:
Cycle Like The Sedins

by jamestobrien on Dec 30, 2009 1:08 PM PST reply actions

Just think of the cross-promotion capabilities with KFC. And El Pollo Loco.

by Mike Chen on Dec 30, 2009 2:23 PM PST up reply actions

This… this has potential.

Because I use mouthwash. And sometimes, I floss.

by brokenyard on Dec 30, 2009 3:25 PM PST reply actions

Hello from the other side :)

Really? Oven Chicken when this game’s got way better storylines? Surely you can do better than that, dude!

Let’s see. Jason Chimera debuts tonight for the Caps. Expect to see him on Nicklas Bäckström’s left side, and Alexander Semin on his other wing. (Ovi’s likely to have Brendan Morrison as his center and Mike Knuble on the other wing.)

The guy in goal for the Caps is a 21-year-old Czech kid from the AHL, facing his third Olympian goalie in as many starts after outdueling both Ryan Miller and Marty Brodeur. Should be interesting to see what he and the team do.

Green’s pretty ticked about being snubbed for Team Canada. He’s been snubbed a couple of times before; his usual response is to redouble his game. We’ll see if that’s the case tonight.

Unleash the Alex!

by gotsparkly on Dec 30, 2009 4:03 PM PST reply actions

Surely you can do better than that, dude!

I’m still navigating my days in a Dayquil haze while trying to do the day job. Winds up sapping the creativity out of the day, thus random nickname story.

by Mike Chen on Dec 30, 2009 4:22 PM PST up reply actions

Maybe Green will take a shot at Dan Boyle tonight. That’d add to this ridiculous Olympic drama.

http://www.battleofcali.com/

by Earl Sleek on Dec 30, 2009 5:16 PM PST via mobile up reply actions

Boyle and Ovie almost fought. Is that good enough?

"I think I realized after the second or third punch, I should have taken his helmet off sooner." - Ryane Clowe
Proud member of the "Re-Sign Marleau" Club
Fools and Sages

by mymclife on Dec 30, 2009 10:00 PM PST up reply actions

Are you kidding?

This is vintage BoC stuff.

by Evilducks on Dec 31, 2009 10:01 AM PST up reply actions

Remember a long time ago when Ovechkin had his “official nickname contest”? I think the winner was something boring like The Great 8. If I had a time machine, I would have campaigned for Oven Chicken, complete with KFC buckets featuring AO’s face.

by Mike Chen on Dec 31, 2009 10:47 AM PST up reply actions

Holy fuck the Sharks are swarming — shooting gallery, indeed.

http://www.battleofcali.com/

by Earl Sleek on Dec 30, 2009 8:35 PM PST reply actions

Marleau called it one of their best games of the season. I’d agree with that. Just keep playing like that every night for, oh, the next six months and everything will be fine!

by Mike Chen on Dec 30, 2009 10:16 PM PST up reply actions