"Simply Sensational"

Look I could spend this time writing about what a great game Alex Ovechkin had last night and how lucky we are here in Washington to have such a special player. But instead what I'd like to do is acknowledge Joe Benenati and Craig Laughlin who night in and night out take the game experience to another level.

While it can't be hard showing enthusiasm calling an Ovechkin goal, Benenati still paints the picture like no other. Last night was a perfect example, each one of his calls for Ovechkin's goals grew in emotion resulting in a crescendo to his game winner.

"Ovechkin in front, a chance... SCORE!!!!!! Ovechkin's 4th is the game-winning 5th." It sounded simple enough, but it perfectly described the emotion of the moment, and as a result made me want to jump in the celebration huddle as well.

The play-by-play position is key to the overall game experience. Remember back in the day when we used to have Jeff Rimer? We are lucky to have the NHL's best in Joe Benanati, and a great color commentator in Craig Laughlin. Hopefully like Ovechkin these two will be with the organization for at least the next 13 years.