Even in defeat, Alex is great

A little bit of greatness came to Causeway Street last night, even if the proof is hard to find in the game summary. Alexander Ovechkin, one of the wunderkinds of the new NHL, made his Boston debut, and picked up a lone assist, his 64th point, in Washington's 3-2 loss to the Bruins.

Ovechkin also muffed a penalty shot, shooting wide right with 2:50 gone in the second period. He botched a one-time slapper on a setup in the right circle, the kind Cam Neely used to bury with a certain, shall we say, feeding-frenzy-like rage. With 3:22 to go in the third, breaking in alone shorthanded, the bold rookie failed to beat Tim Thomas on a backhander (one of his seven shots that failed to beat Thomas), and then lost his footing before crashing into the boards.

''I have to score on chances," said the 20-year-old Muscovite, who began the evening as the league's No. 8 point-getter. ''I had two breakaways . . . and penalty shot . . . it's my fault we lose this game."

The Capitals, of course, only have 17 victories this season, and without Ovechkin, they might have come to the Garden on target to break the futility mark that was the 1974-75 Caps debut season of 8-67-5. He is that good, which allows him to be hard on himself, and it is that close-to-the-bone self-assessment that validates the superstar label hung on him even before the Capitals made him the No. 1 pick in the 2004 draft.

''The best thing you can say about him," said his general manager, George McPhee, ''is that he's real. I mean, he's a terrific kid -- respectful, coachable, nothing selfish about him. When you make a draft pick, you're always looking for the perfect result, and this guy comes about as close to perfect as you can hope."

Here is the Ovechkin list of tangibles: hits top speed in fewer than three strides, and for the record that's about a dozen warp factors higher than Gary Doak breakaway speed; he hits steaming slappers; plays in traffic; passes the puck in tough situations and usually connects with those relays; and typically looks to return a pass when a linemate sends him one worth returning. That last point might seem small, but it's not, because nothing turns off a linemate, and often a team, like some puckhogging superstar who all but takes the puck pail home with him at night.

On the other hand, Ovechkin is not Russian for ''aw shucks." Take a tour of some of his goals on the Internet and you'll see a guy who goes to the limelight the way a Girl Scout troop goes to a case of thin mints. This is a guy, blessed with talent and infused with work ethic, who has a certain passion for putting pucks in nets, and rejoices in doing so with a flourish.

''Oh, yeah, he wants to be the hero," said Thomas, who has been doing a quieter, vastly more understated job of that himself the last two weeks here in the Hub of Hockey. ''He just seems to be that type of player, and I don't think that's a personal vendetta he's got against goalies or anything. I just think he likes to be a hero, and he likes to score."

It was P.J. Axelsson's job, for the second time this week, to make certain that Ovechkin did not add to his goal total (frozen last night at 34). Wherever Ovechkin went, his Swedish shadow went, too, reminiscent of the days when Steve Kasper would meet Wayne Gretzky at the Logan Airport cab stand any time the great Oiler teams came to town.

Axelsson, with total-checking brothers Wayne Primeau and Brad Isbister (injured late last night), succeeded in shutting Ovechkin down, although getting seven shots on net merits an asterisk being placed on the expression *shutting Ovechkin down. On many nights, when Kasper hectored Gretzky, the Great One would go without points and without shots. Ovechkin still squeezed off seven of Washington's 34 on Thomas.

''I wasn't surprised," said Ovechkin, quizzed about the shadow who wore the No. 11 spoked-B sweater, along with the perpetual smile. ''Last time against Boston, Axelsson played the same. Next time a team does that, I'll know how I have to play -- what I have to do."

A reporter asked Ovechkin what that might entail.

''Secret," he said, his seering blue eyes fixed on his interrogator. ''Secret." And then, a slight smile.

Slightly more than half his rookie season gone by, Ovechkin catches no one by surprise now. The word's out. He is the real deal, full of energy and speed. ''A big heart," described McPhee. ''And a big engine." He and Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby will lead the ballot box for Rookie of the Year, and as good as Crosby is, the Pittsburgh center at this stage of his development is more a streamlined Acela compared to the snorting cannonball locomotive that is Ovechkin.

''You're just trying to slow him down," said Axelsson, whose strategy, for the most part, was derived from basic geometry, always positioning himself somewhere in the straight line that existed between Ovechkin and Thomas. ''You know he's going to get his chances, that's for sure."

When they each reported to their respective assignments, Ovechkin as the would-be game-breaker, and Axelsson as the would-be bubblebuster, Ovechkin offered his evening's salutations.

''He just said, 'Let's have a good game, buddy,' " said Axelsson. ''And I said, 'Yeah, let's have a good game, buddy.' " Perhaps to reflect how the night played out, Axelsson had a little more emphasis on his part of the ''buddy" quote.

There will be loads more chances for the Bruins, and their fans, to see Ovechkin. No telling how it plays out from here, but it's a safe bet he'll see more Black-and-Gold shadows, and it's an equally safe bet he'll see more of a payoff for all his work.

''The good news is," said Washington coach Glen Hanlon, the former NHL goalie, ''he'll get another penalty shot someday, and I guarantee you the next one goes in. The next one's a goal -- mark my words."

Duly noted. The next one, the next one most likely in a long line, has the initials A.O. on it.

''Yeah, probably," said a wide-smiling Thomas, realizing the bit of good fortune that came his way when Ovechkin's penalty shot went wide.

Then Thomas pondered what he had said, his smile disappeared, and he wondered. ''Hey, did [Hanlon] mean that the next one beats me?" asked Thomas.

And the question hung there, unanswered, until next time.