As Washington Capital reaches latest career milestone, his excellence is unparalleled.
Except it happened Tuesday night. No. 798 came 24 seconds into Tuesday’s 7-3 victory in Chicago. No. 799 came off a rebound eight minutes later. And No. 800 — think about that,— came 6 minutes 34 seconds into the third period, with Evgeny Kuznetsov buzzing about, and Ovechkin ready to pounce. If he’s done it once, he’s done it 800 times.
Some historical context: Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby entered the NHL in the post-lockout season of 2005-06. This is not to say one is better than the other, because Crosby plays center and Ovechkin is a winger, and their jobs and responsibilities are different. Plus, Crosby has dealt with concussions that have hindered his ability to play regularly. They have been held up against each other for a decade and a half. They’re different players.
Drink in those totals. Crosby, an instant Hall of Famer who has won three Stanley Cups and two Hart Trophies as the league’s MVP, has scored 0.47 goals per game — a righteous plenty. Ovechkin’s pace over the same period — meaning, playing with the same set of rules in the same set of circumstances — is 0.61 goals a game.
Essentially, if he plays two games in a row without scoring a goal, it’s an anomaly. Yeah, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and Tage Thompson almost certainly will finish with more goals than Ovechkin this season. But it’s an easy bet that none of those players will be 18 seasons into their careers and scoring once every two nights out. Not close.This has been noted before, but it’s worth re-upping now.
Included in that span: Since World War II, no season has resulted in more goals allowed per game than 1981-82, when the average was 3.95. That year, Gretzky had an inconceivable 92 goals and 212 points. Video game numbers.
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