Derek Dorsett is an agitator for the Columbus Blue Jackets, and a good one. But against the Washington Capitals on New Year's Eve, it was Alex Ovechkin that got under his skin — with, according to Dorsett, saliva on his face.
From the Columbus Dispatch, when asked why he was so physical and preoccupied by Ovechkin:
"I haven't told many people this but he spit in my face," Dorsett said. "That got me a little more mad."
Dorsett said Ovechkin spit on him when they were face-to-face during a fracas in which both were given 2-minute minors (cross-checking for Dorsett, roughing for Ovechkin) at 2:38 of the second period.
"That's why I was yelling at the ref so much and yelling at him in the penalty box," Dorsett said. "I find that pretty disrespectful. That's probably one of the most disrespectful things someone can do, especially a guy who is the best player in the league. It's classless. He's supposed to be a role model for the game. It's unbelievable."
Hey, maybe he's not a role model. Because if declare you're not a role model, you can spit on people, even fans!
Deadspin had the video of the incident this morning and spit-balled this analysis:
Watching video of the play, there's no smoking gun. Ovechkin gives Dorsett a shot, then it's mostly jawing. Dorsett never reacts like he got a glob in the grill, though at the end he does reach to his face. To remove a mouthguard or wipe himself off, it's not clear.
As SpitGate unfolded this morning, Ovechkin was asked about it after Washington Capitals practice. From Katie Carerra of the Washington Post:
After some confusion over what the word "spit" meant, Ovechkin denied Dorsett's claim: "No, no, no. I don't know. Show me that moment, I want to see it. No."
So there you go. Not that we're predisposed to believe Ovechkin (despite the accusations in the comments), you have to admit Dorsett's story is a little farfetched.
"According to his story, Ovechkin passes him and starts skating up the ice. Then Rick Nash says he was struck on the right temple. The spit then proceeds to ricochet off the temple, striking Derek Dorsett between the third and the forth rib. The spit then came off the rib, made a right turn, hitting Dorsett in the right wrist... causing him to drop his baseball cap. The spit then splashed off the wrist, pauses -- in mid-air, mind you -- makes a left turn and lands on Dorsett's left thigh."
That is one magic Russian loogie ...
(And no, Rick Nash wasn't involved. But we needed another name to make the reference work. Also, Semin is the second spitter.)