Ovechkin denies reports of a rift with teammate Wideman and coach Kolzig

Russian hockey star Alexander Ovechkin has denied the media reports about his alleged conflicts with Washington Capitals teammate Dennis Wideman and goaltending coach Olaf Kolzig.

Ovechkin and Wideman allegedly traded slashes at practice on Friday, but afterwards dismissed the issue.

«Dennis was playing hardball, like in a real match, so I did the same. Basically, he challenged me to play harder,» said the Russian forward.

Wideman, smiling after the incident, told reporters their little bust up was not an issue.

«He said he didn’t like the stick he was using, so he wanted to break it. So he broke it. And I say, ‘Are you happy?’ He says ‘Yeah.’ Then he said, ‘Do you want to go for dinner tonight?’ I was like alright, and that was that. We went back and continued the drill,» Wideman told Washington Post.

Meanwhile, Ovechkin also had time to respond to a jibe from the goalkeeping coach Olaf Kolzig, who suggested the Russian is working too hard on his «rock-star image».

«Yeah I just want to look like him. He is a rock star, so – actually he was a rock star. Right now he’s in retirement,» Ovechkin said, according to the Post. «It’s no situation. I don’t think you guys have to give lots of attention about what he said.»