– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
Is it possible that the person who holds the iconic title of “Iron Man” has passed the torch to another Beltway-area sportsman?
Outside of wearing a helmet and using an instrument made out of wood, there probably aren’t too many parallels to draw between Baseball Hall of Famer Cal Ripken Jr. and the game of hockey. But, last Friday, during the Washington Capitals’ game against the Chicago Blackhawks, there Ripken was, on the Verizon Center scoreboard as he recorded a message congratulating Caps defenseman Karl Alzner on playing in his 500th consecutive game. The message played during the first period of the contest and, sheepishly, Alzner took a few seconds to acknowledge the fans who applauded after the recorded message from the Baltimore Oriole great ran.
Being honored by sports’ most-renowned iron man is almost the equivalent of Mother Teresa complimenting someone for his or her charity work.
Alzner, for his part, played down the achievement when talking with the assembled media – including A Lot of Sports Talk – before Friday’s game.
“Sometimes, you get lucky,” said Alzner, who ended up recording a plus-4 rating and was named the game’s first star in the Capitals’ 6-0 demolition of the Blackhawks later that night. “I’ve gone through stretches where I haven’t had any injuries at all, for more than 100 games. And then you go through some [stretches] that you get them back-to-back-to-back. Honestly, a lot of it is just having some good luck.”
Alzner added, “I’ve been hit from behind into the boards a bunch of times and I’ve been OK. My shoulders have been fine, whereas some guys, it doesn’t work out that way. Just good fortune right now.”
Though Alzner might not say it, let’s just leave it as good fortune mixed in with a whole lot of toughness. Here’s a perfect example.
Last season, in December of 2015, Alzner broke his thumb and strained an oblique muscle in a span of 48 hours. Even the legendary pain tolerance possessed by hockey players would be tested severely with those injuries in succession, Alzner included. It just so happened that the Capitals at that time were already thin at defense when his injuries hit, with normal defense partner John Carlson and fellow blueliner Brooks Orpik already out at that time. Alzner soldiered on, pain and all.
“You find ways,” said Alzner about that situation last season. “There’s no secret to it. You just keep playing.”
Since Oct. 8, 2010, Alzner has indeed kept playing, and with game No. 500, he became just the third defenseman since 1943-44 to play in 500 consecutive games, joining Jay Bouwmeester (737) and Keith Yandle. (Yandle’s streak, which is current, stands at 594 consecutive games.) In a season where the Capitals have only lost a combined total of 10 man games due to injury so far this season, fewest in the National Hockey League, Alzner reigns as the team’s epitome of reliability.
“To me, Karl is a guy who doesn’t get a lot of accolades and is a constant on your lineup, and a real positive constant,” said Capitals head coach Barry Trotz, according to the Washington Post. “That is extremely important, extremely valuable and really goes under the radar, not only by the fans and media, but even the coaching staff. Just every day you go in and write his name on the board. Those type of things are invaluable.”
Alzner isn’t the only Capital that is reveling in the moment of hitting a milestone. Earlier last week, Alex Ovechkin reached the 1,000-point barrier and, before that, Nicklas Backstrom hit the 500-assist mark. Each of those milestones were achieved during the the team’s current eight-game winning streak, a run that has seen the Capitals defeat elite teams like Columbus, Pittsburgh, Montréal and Chicago in the process.
When presented with the thought that his streak might be more impressive than the scoring milestones of his more ballyhooed teammates, Alzner shrugged it off like a nagging injury.
“Maybe we’re not as smart as the rest of the guys in the league, playing through things we shouldn’t be playing through,” Alzner joked. “It’s not really expected for people to be able to play that many games. For example, [Ovechkin] scoring all the goals and all the points is skill, a lot of skill and a lot of hard work. Whereas this, it’s just being in the right place at the right time. I can’t skill my way through 500 games; I just have to work hard and be fortunate. That’s the only thing I can really control. I can work as hard as I can, and as hard as I can I’m still never going to get 1,000 points. It’s just not me.”
OK, Karl, so 1,000 points is out of the question. No fear, because there’s another milestone that’s within Alzner’s reach which deals with reaching the 1,000 mark.
“My goal always has been to get to 1,000 games,” Alzner said. “So, the sooner I can do it, the better.”
He’s more than halfway to that milestone and already has written himself in NHL iron man folklore with accumulating a consecutive games played streak of 500.
Or, as Cal Ripken said at the end of his video message on Friday night, “Only 2,132 more to catch me.”
