Don't believe everything being said

The biggest question that was asked after Bruce Boudreau was fired on Monday was whether or not he had a rift with Capitals Captian Alex Ovechkin.

Both Boudreau and Ovechkin have said there was no rift and they both respected one another. Boudreau revealed in an interview with the Washington Posts Tarik El-Bashir on Wednesday morning that he and Ovechkin spoke for 15-minutes on Tuesday, and Ovechkin told Boudreau he enjoyed playing for him is thankful for everything Boudreau taught him.

Despite all the warm and fuzzy talk, Alex Ovechkin quit on Bruce Boudreau, and the debate should not take very long.

Ovechkin's time under Boudreau began with thunderous results. He scored 65, 56 and 50 goals in Boudreau's first three seasons as coach. The Capitals won division titles in each of those seasons and came within a game of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2009.

So, where did Ovechkin loss confidence in Boudreau?

Some might point to the 2009-10 season which ironically sits as the best season in franchise history. The Capitals finished that season with a franchise record 54 wins and 121 points which was good enough for the franchise's first Presidents Trophy.

But, the team suffered a historic loss in the first round of the playoffs that year as they became the first #1 seed to blow a three games to one series lead over a #8 seed.

The following season, an 8-game losing streak in December caused Boudreau to switch to a more defensive system which took away from the teams normal offensive output. Ovechkin played the majority of that season overweight and with a suspected knee injury which caused the superstar winger to score a career low 32 goals and finish with a career low 85 points.

Still, the Capitals were the Eastern Conference's #1 seed at the start of the playoffs and this time a three games to one series lead was not lost as the Capitals closed out the New York Rangers in five games.

But, it was obvious during that series that the Capitals biggest advantage was possessing more talent and still were not necessarily a great team. Plus, the infamous blown three-goal lead by the Rangers in Game 4 all but won Game 5 for Washington before it even started.

The Capitals and Boudreau's deficencies were exploited in a four-game sweep at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning in the next round and again questions about Boudreau's job security surfaced.

Ovechkin came into training camp in much better shape, and Boudreau attempted to become the task-master many felt he should've been all along.

That did not sit well with Ovechkin.

After scoring five goals in the first ten games of the season, Ovie has scored just three in the passed 13 and disappeared for three, four games at a time in November.

It was obvious at that point that Ovechkin was no longer listening to Boudreau's words and a change needed to be made before this season spirals hopelessly out of control.

When and why Ovechkin lost confidence in Boudreau will never be truly known. But, the bottom line is it happened and it cost Boudreau his job.

Will Ovechkin find the 50-goal scorer that we all screamed for five years was better then Sidney Crosby under the tutelage of Dale Hunter? Or, will the immature attitude that Ovechkin has shown the last month ultimately prevail and cost this franchise a shot at winning the Stanley Cup it so desperately wants to win.

Time will tell, but if Ovechkin wants to achieve the on-ice success he's always claimed he wants, he is going to have to stop whinning and return to the form of his first five Nhl season's.

If he doesn't, another coach will be fired and a team that was thought to have so much promise will fall flat on their faces.