Alex Ovechkin's scoring feats are great; ultimate goal is Stanley Cup
Alex Ovechkin's scoring feats are great; ultimate goal is Stanley Cup, Alex Ovechkin remains an NHL scoring star, even at a time observers are moaning about the lack of goals.
Tuesday found Ovechkin scoring his 50th goal, which came as his Washington Capitals moved closer to the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins as those teams vie for second place in the Metropolitan Division.
The latter is more important than the former, but it's clear they are united in purpose. Ovechkin, a monster talent, is carrying the Capitals into the playoffs. The Capitals, in turn, are feeding the beast in hopes of making the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1998.
A team that missed the playoffs last season is viewed as a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference. And Ovechkin is proving his critics wrong. As The Washington Post noted, coach Barry Trotz was warned about Ovechkin's negatives, which included his lazy, selfish traits.
"It's way better than expectations coming in, all the things that people were telling me were false," Trotz told The Post. "It's been really enlightening to me, and I'm trying to make it enlightening to everyone else, that this is a good hockey player that can do some special things."
Ovechkin's goal gives him six seasons of at least 50, including the past three. He has 10 more than his nearest challengers for the Maurice Richard Trophy. Steven Stamkos of the Lightning and Rick Nash of the Rangers both have 40.
Still, it's worth noting that scoring across the league remains low. How bad is it? According to the New York Post, this season could find the lowest individual point totals since 1962. That season, Andy Bathgate and Bobby Hull finished with 84 points in the old six-team NHL. Plus, teams played 70 games instead of today's 82.
It has become a familiar refrain. In 2014, USA Today's Kevin Allen wrote that scoring is becoming more difficult. In 2013, the website Grantland offered 10 ways to end the dearth of scoring. Failure to see games turn into fire-wagon score-a-thons has become as rampant as reports on California's drought.
At least scoring has plateaued. According to The Associated Press, the NHL sees 5.3 goals per game, the same rate it saw the past three seasons.Those nights of 7-4 and 6-5 games ended when — wait for it — the neutral-zone trap arrived. Curse the New Jersey Devils for the trap's success, but remember they weren't the only team to use a defense-first system. Remember the Detroit Red Wings' left-wing lock?
Expansion thinned talent pools and forced changes that led to lockdown defensive schemes. Try as it might, the NHL couldn't correct it (if indeed scoring needs to be corrected). It made a good decision to decrease the size of goalie pads and avoided the ridiculous notion of using larger goals.
Let's not let pleas for more scoring turn the NHL into a clown act. There are good reasons why scoring is down. There are just as many reasons why hockey is as exciting now as ever.
"Back in the early '90s, late '80s, it was hooking and holding and grabbing and clutching that was tough," former NHL player Jeremy Roenick told the AP. "Now, it's just players that are just big, strong and fast. It's a tough time to score goals."
Ovechkin enters Wednesday with 77 points, two behind league leader Sidney Crosby in the chase for the Art Ross Trophy.
Greater team depth and never-ending focus to defensive attention are to blame, and critics contend goaltenders remain too big as well.
"I'd like to see guys get 100 points. I'd like to see 50-goal scorers again. I'd like to see all that stuff be brought in," St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock told the AP. "But one of the problems you have right now is there's just too much mobility in the game. Too many teams have four lines that can skate. They have four (defensemen) that are mobile."
Little, it seasons, stops Ovechkin. He has 472 goals in 755 games, meaning he will hit 500 for his career next season. His Tuesday goal tied him with Peter Bondra for tops all-time among Capitals players. He also is second all-time in assists to teammate Nicklas Backstrom.
Consider the company Ovechkin now keeps. Mario Lemieux, Guy Lafleur, Marcel Dionne, Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy all scored 50 goals six times. That makes Ovechkin a shoo-in for the Hockey Hall of Fame, but he likely won't be giving an induction speech any time soon. At 29, The Great 8 is at his peak.
"Thank goodness Ovechkin is still putting the puck in net like he is, so we have something to talk about in terms of the 50-goal mark, because that's always exciting," Roenick said. "It's nice to have the megastar that you can build up every single night. But it's nice for a team to have more balance throughout the lineup."
Also consider those five great players and notice: All but one was a Stanley Cup winner. Is Ovechkin the next Dionne? Elite scorer but frustrated in the playoffs?
Ovechkin is proving his critics wrong this season. Come April 15, it will be time for him to throw off the label of playoff failure.
Tuesday found Ovechkin scoring his 50th goal, which came as his Washington Capitals moved closer to the New York Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins as those teams vie for second place in the Metropolitan Division.
The latter is more important than the former, but it's clear they are united in purpose. Ovechkin, a monster talent, is carrying the Capitals into the playoffs. The Capitals, in turn, are feeding the beast in hopes of making the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 1998.
A team that missed the playoffs last season is viewed as a legitimate contender in the Eastern Conference. And Ovechkin is proving his critics wrong. As The Washington Post noted, coach Barry Trotz was warned about Ovechkin's negatives, which included his lazy, selfish traits.
"It's way better than expectations coming in, all the things that people were telling me were false," Trotz told The Post. "It's been really enlightening to me, and I'm trying to make it enlightening to everyone else, that this is a good hockey player that can do some special things."
Ovechkin's goal gives him six seasons of at least 50, including the past three. He has 10 more than his nearest challengers for the Maurice Richard Trophy. Steven Stamkos of the Lightning and Rick Nash of the Rangers both have 40.
Still, it's worth noting that scoring across the league remains low. How bad is it? According to the New York Post, this season could find the lowest individual point totals since 1962. That season, Andy Bathgate and Bobby Hull finished with 84 points in the old six-team NHL. Plus, teams played 70 games instead of today's 82.
It has become a familiar refrain. In 2014, USA Today's Kevin Allen wrote that scoring is becoming more difficult. In 2013, the website Grantland offered 10 ways to end the dearth of scoring. Failure to see games turn into fire-wagon score-a-thons has become as rampant as reports on California's drought.
At least scoring has plateaued. According to The Associated Press, the NHL sees 5.3 goals per game, the same rate it saw the past three seasons.Those nights of 7-4 and 6-5 games ended when — wait for it — the neutral-zone trap arrived. Curse the New Jersey Devils for the trap's success, but remember they weren't the only team to use a defense-first system. Remember the Detroit Red Wings' left-wing lock?
Expansion thinned talent pools and forced changes that led to lockdown defensive schemes. Try as it might, the NHL couldn't correct it (if indeed scoring needs to be corrected). It made a good decision to decrease the size of goalie pads and avoided the ridiculous notion of using larger goals.
Let's not let pleas for more scoring turn the NHL into a clown act. There are good reasons why scoring is down. There are just as many reasons why hockey is as exciting now as ever.
"Back in the early '90s, late '80s, it was hooking and holding and grabbing and clutching that was tough," former NHL player Jeremy Roenick told the AP. "Now, it's just players that are just big, strong and fast. It's a tough time to score goals."
Ovechkin enters Wednesday with 77 points, two behind league leader Sidney Crosby in the chase for the Art Ross Trophy.
Greater team depth and never-ending focus to defensive attention are to blame, and critics contend goaltenders remain too big as well.
"I'd like to see guys get 100 points. I'd like to see 50-goal scorers again. I'd like to see all that stuff be brought in," St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock told the AP. "But one of the problems you have right now is there's just too much mobility in the game. Too many teams have four lines that can skate. They have four (defensemen) that are mobile."
Little, it seasons, stops Ovechkin. He has 472 goals in 755 games, meaning he will hit 500 for his career next season. His Tuesday goal tied him with Peter Bondra for tops all-time among Capitals players. He also is second all-time in assists to teammate Nicklas Backstrom.
Consider the company Ovechkin now keeps. Mario Lemieux, Guy Lafleur, Marcel Dionne, Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy all scored 50 goals six times. That makes Ovechkin a shoo-in for the Hockey Hall of Fame, but he likely won't be giving an induction speech any time soon. At 29, The Great 8 is at his peak.
"Thank goodness Ovechkin is still putting the puck in net like he is, so we have something to talk about in terms of the 50-goal mark, because that's always exciting," Roenick said. "It's nice to have the megastar that you can build up every single night. But it's nice for a team to have more balance throughout the lineup."
Also consider those five great players and notice: All but one was a Stanley Cup winner. Is Ovechkin the next Dionne? Elite scorer but frustrated in the playoffs?
Ovechkin is proving his critics wrong this season. Come April 15, it will be time for him to throw off the label of playoff failure.