Everything you adored and despised about Alex Ovechkin was wrapped up in a tidy package over a

two-week stretch before inexplicably disappearing Wednesday night against the Buffalo Sabres.

The guy was so quiet in HSBC Arena that generating genuine disdain for the guy was starting to

become a chore.

Ovechkin napped through the first period, took a diving penalty in the second and looked

generally uninterested until showing up late in the third. Basically, he spent the evening

floating up and down the left wing, minus the flare and filth that made him the player fans

love to loathe but wish they had.

The only time the Great Eight really drew attention to himself was in the second period

when he took a diving penalty. The play was symbolic of his entire evening. All told, his

performance in the Sabres' 3-0 victory was a total flop.

And to think earlier in the day that Ovechkin made a point to say he played every game as

if it were his last.

A bad game from a great player? Obviously. Ovechkin on most nights is one of the few NHL

players who alone is worth the price of admission, but he didn't come close to giving fans

their money's worth Wednesday, including some who paid $130 a pop.

"I had a couple of chances, especially in the first period," he said. "I just missed the

puck and missed the net. It happens."

Apparently, one of the most colorful players wasn't any more inspiring after the game than

he was for three periods. His hell began in the first period when his one-timer fluttered over

an open net. He didn't hit anybody, didn't bother anybody, and he didn't impress anybody until

it was much too late.

Ryan Miller was superb again in net. The Sabres should be given credit for taking Ovechkin

off of his game and forcing low-percentage shots from the perimeter, but he wasn't exactly

killing himself to make a difference around the net. He hardly looked like a player who had

something to prove after coming back from a two-game suspension for intentionally knocking

knees with Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason on Nov. 30.

After scoring the winner against the Sabres before planting Patrick Kaleta from behind and

getting ejected Nov. 25, Ovechkin had four goals and six points during a four-game stretch

that was interrupted by the sentence. He returned with two goals Monday against Tampa Bay and

was outclassed by rookie Nathan Gerbe on Wednesday.

You had to wonder if the suspension crept into his head after he spent years straddling the

squiggly line separating playing hard from playing dirty. Finally, the NHL found the gumption

to banish the back-to-back Hart Trophy winner while subtracting nearly $100,000 from his

annual haul.

"I don't care about my reputation," he said after the morning workout. "I'm a hockey

player. Sometimes, you have some bad situations. I don't want to hurt nobody. OK, let's talk

about not my suspension. Let's talk about games."

Great idea. Ovechkin was booed every time he touched the puck, a custom he endures 41 times

a season. He had fans in stitches after snapping his stick while waiting for a faceoff in the

third period. Squeezing a little, Alex? For just the fifth time in 23 games, he was held

without a point.

It was games like this that makes you wonder if fans genuinely despise him or hate the fact

that they actually admire him. No player in the league leaves people more conflicted because

no player in the game brings quite the same combination of speed, skill, toughness and misery.

But they welcomed his listless effort Wednesday.

He tried passing himself off as an ordinary guy, as if he was lacing up his skates for some

Tonawanda beer league. He's making $9 million this season, joining Penguins stars Sidney

Crosby and Evgeni Malkin as the NHL's highest-paid players. He's in the second season of a

13-year deal worth $124 million.

Ovechkin drives a $300,000 Mercedes with a Virginia license plate that reads "AO GR8" and

owns a $10,000 cell phone. He usually plays the same way he lives, with his foot to the floor

while disregarding the traffic around him. Part of the fun is watching him have fun because he

is so great.

For one night, he was anything but GR8. He was just, well, ordinary.