Alexander "Don't call it a comeback, I've been here for years" Ovechkin has 8 goals in his last 5 and has the Caps in the playoffs.

[byrath]

call this small sample size

also, gotta look what kind of goals he has scored

sure, he has played better of late, but facts remain the same;
age has caught upon the once great goal scorer

in his last game there were moments where he could barely stand up, let alone skate
because he was so exhausted, dude was gasping for air, sure that was in the 3rd
but still, he is old and doesn't have much left in him, i believe this is his final
season in the NHL, his farewell if you will

without 2 big streaks, he could have ended with under, or just above 10
goals this season

people are forgetting here that, for a better part of the season, he had a pace
for about 10 goals.

He's set to earn another 20 million dollars over the next two seasons, so I'll go out on a limb and say he's not retiring after this season, whether he cares about the record or not

 

[TheSmokingMan]

call this small sample size

also, gotta look what kind of goals he has scored

sure, he has played better of late, but facts remain the same;
age has caught upon the once great goal scorer

in his last game there were moments where he could barely stand up, let alone skate
because he was so exhausted, dude was gasping for air, sure that was in the 3rd
but still, he is old and doesn't have much left in him, i believe this is his final
season in the NHL, his farewell if you will

without 2 big streaks, he could have ended with under, or just above 10
goals this season

people are forgetting here that, for a better part of the season, he had a pace
for about 10 goals.

This is the biggest collection of BS in one post that I've seen in a long while. I was going to type a point by point response, but then it dawned on me that anyone with half a brain will see right through you.

 

[trick9]

The infusion and improvement of the youth on the roster turned around the season. People are still under the impression that the Caps are old and slow, but it's basically just Ovi and the kids now.

CMM, Lapierre, Miro, Protas, Strome all took a huge step forward this season. Ovi recovered from whatever was ailing him in the 1st half and he's now consistently getting into positions to score.

I think Spencer Carbery is one of the most underrated coaches in the league, it's remarkable what he's been able to do in his first year as NHL head coach.

It is pretty funny. This is Caps top-9 by age during Wilson suspension:

38 - 23 - 37
23 - 27 - 20
35 - 22 - 27

3 above 35.
4 below 24.
2 27-year olds.

4th line is: 26 - 33 - 27

Even on the D there is a 24-year old on every pairing.

It's not the youngest team yet, but to say that they are slow at this stage kind of shows you that you really haven't watched this team at all lately. As early as next season their average age will likely drop a lot if Pacioretty moves on and injuries force Oshie to a smaller role.

 

[John Price]

 

[HFpapi]

It really doesn't though. - 27 goal differential, zero PPG players and in fact only two players above 0.62 ppg. It's crazy they are in a playoff spot right now lol.

 

[LuGBuG]

call this small sample size

also, gotta look what kind of goals he has scored

sure, he has played better of late, but facts remain the same;
age has caught upon the once great goal scorer

in his last game there were moments where he could barely stand up, let alone skate
because he was so exhausted, dude was gasping for air, sure that was in the 3rd
but still, he is old and doesn't have much left in him, i believe this is his final
season in the NHL, his farewell if you will

without 2 big streaks, he could have ended with under, or just above 10
goals this season

people are forgetting here that, for a better part of the season, he had a pace
for about 10 goals.

I’m not much of an Ovie fan, but referring to an Alexander Ovechkin goal streak as “a small sample size” is just absolutely laughable. He’s been doing it for almost a couple decades.

 

[Dirty Dog]

Good for Ovie!

 

[SkinsFan09]

He may have his baggage and may have an incredible amount of leeway from the NHL on some hits but there is no argument how impactful he is, and has been for Washington.

Dragging them to a playoff position is a very respectable feat.

Capitals without Ovechkin: 26-29-4

Penguins without Crosby: 121-64-28

I have Ovechkin as No. 2 of the era behind him but he has always had more pressure on his shoulders without another MVP-caliber player to lean on.

call this small sample size

also, gotta look what kind of goals he has scored

sure, he has played better of late, but facts remain the same;
age has caught upon the once great goal scorer

in his last game there were moments where he could barely stand up, let alone skate
because he was so exhausted, dude was gasping for air, sure that was in the 3rd
but still, he is old and doesn't have much left in him, i believe this is his final
season in the NHL, his farewell if you will

without 2 big streaks, he could have ended with under, or just above 10
goals this season

people are forgetting here that, for a better part of the season, he had a pace
for about 10 goals.

LOL you guys realize if he hadn't played well for over 25% of the season his numbers wouldn't be good. Asinine.

 

[GeeoffBrown]

call this small sample size

also, gotta look what kind of goals he has scored

sure, he has played better of late, but facts remain the same;
age has caught upon the once great goal scorer

in his last game there were moments where he could barely stand up, let alone skate
because he was so exhausted, dude was gasping for air, sure that was in the 3rd
but still, he is old and doesn't have much left in him, i believe this is his final
season in the NHL, his farewell if you will

without 2 big streaks, he could have ended with under, or just above 10
goals this season

people are forgetting here that, for a better part of the season, he had a pace
for about 10 goals.

Talking about sample size, he's probably going to finish his career with the most goals in NHL history. Pretty good sample size.

 

[missionAvs]

Yeah man Just like MacKinnon without having a point in every home game would have average stats. That streak is artificially bumping his stats up, he shouldn’t be close to the hart trophy race.

Agreed. MacK is nothing more than a home PP merchant at this point. It's crazy to me that people are thinking Hart/Ross when all we're talking about here is a glorified Jamie McGinn.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

I remember reading that "Will OV hit 20 goals" thread a week ago.

I blink and he's chasing 30.


The f*** happened?

 

[TheDoldrums]

Him and Meier are the reasons why you don't randomly shit on guys mid season for not producing who are absurd scorers

meier has a career high of 35 goals, this is an Ovechkin thread, timo is not an absurd scorer by any means. Only thing absurd is this attempted sneak

 

[SkinsFan09]

 

[tfwnogf]

I remember reading that "Will OV hit 20 goals" thread a week ago.

I blink and he's chasing 30.


The f*** happened?

he saw all the mean comments on the forum calling him washed up and decided to go into overdrive

 

[thegazelle]

I grew up watching Gretzky set his numerous records and always assumed for some records, I will never see them broken. It has been fun watching Ovi throughout this career and the general consistency in his goal scoring prowess. Based on much of this year I did not think he would end up breaking Gretzky's record. I saw the occasional empty netter and was thinking, it's a tall order to catch 99 with cheeseball goals. Happy to see him on a run here and looking like his old self. I loved Gretzky but I for one (and my kids) would love to see Ovi get the record.

 

[Ovie's Neighbor]

The infusion and improvement of the youth on the roster turned around the season. People are still under the impression that the Caps are old and slow, but it's basically just Ovi and the kids now.

CMM, Lapierre, Miro, Protas, Strome all took a huge step forward this season. Ovi recovered from whatever was ailing him in the 1st half and he's now consistently getting into positions to score.

I think Spencer Carbery is one of the most underrated coaches in the league, it's remarkable what he's been able to do in his first year as NHL head coach.

I think what ailed him was being fat and out of shape lol

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

I think what ailed him was being fat and out of shape lol

I doubt that. If that was the case, he would’ve sucked the entire season.

 

[Ovie's Neighbor]

I doubt that. If that was the case, he would’ve sucked the entire season.

I think he has played himself into shape

 

[GMR]

The Capitals lose in the first round like every year. They need to step aside and let the Red Wings lose in the first round in their place.

 

[Rebels57]

I think he breaks it next season. He's gonna work his off in the offseason so he gets off to a better start next season. If he can score 5 more this season, he'll need 45 next season to set the record. I can see it.

 

[Voight]

Ovi looked totally washed to start the year, wasn't even a sure bet to hit 20 goals at one point.

The Capitals looked equally washed, I mean, they had NOBODY on offence, a no name goalie, weak D core. Backstrom basically retired. Things looked grim.

After being written off for the 96th time in his illustrious career, Ovi is absolutely on fire at exactly the right time. 5 game goal streak with 8 total goals. It makes zero sense at all but somehow the Washington Capitals are now sitting in a wildcard playoff position.

How many times in his career has this guy absolutely turned it on in the 2nd half of the season.

Shout out to the GOAT goal scorer still doing it.

This website had some awful takes back in 2017 when it came to Ovy. Media as well.

 

[CashMash]

I was wrong to despair. Makes me happy.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

I think he has played himself into shape

If that was the case, Ovechkin’s improvement would not have been so abrupt. Besides, I think it’s impossible for anyone to pass NHL fitness tests at 38 without being sufficiently fit.

 

[JPeeper]

It will be tight to end the year next season if he can beat the record or not. He is still signed for 2 more years so barring injury and COMPLETELY falling off the cliff (which the last 2 months has proven to not be the case) he'll for sure break the record.

Wonder now if he tries to chase 1000 goals.

 

[amikaro]

There's no recent individual in sport who I cheered and hoped more to get a record or write history. Go Ovi! The record belongs to the Great 8!