Ovechkin is still the King

[Beukeboom]

Nah. Ovechkin doesn't decline. Ovechkin evolves when the league changes. It has nothing to do with Matthews and Laine. They just happen to be the prey. Everytime someone new is ready to challenge OV for the Rocket. They get out to a quick start and we all talk about them, only for OV to come out and destroy them in goal totals.

How do you know that? He had 33 goals in 82 games, while Matthews scored 40 as a rookie and Crosby won the Rocket. Of course these things might spur him to work out harder in the summer. Ovie did not look particularly fit three years ago. He seems to have lost a lot of weight.

 

[PB12]

How do you know that? He had 33 goals in 82 games. Matthews scored 40 as a rookie, Crosby won the Rocket. Of course these things might spur him to work out harder in the summer. Ovie did not look particularly fit three years ago. He seems to have lost a lot of weight.

Ovechkin did less because he didn't have to. He had a lot of guys step up to the plate that season. I know you want to believe it was some magical reason, but it wasn't.

 

[Plural]

I think its an extremely arrogant celebration and I know that todays Ovie would never do something as egotistical as that

Oh he would...

 

[Beukeboom]

Ovechkin did less because he didn't have to. He had a lot of guys step up to the plate that season. I know you want to believe it was some magical reason, but it wasn't.

So believing players want to be the best and compete against each other is a "magical reason" and you got the answer in Ovie chosing not to do his best and thusly not score as many goals as he could? Interesting...

At least I'm glad he has elected to score more now then.

 

[PB12]

So believing players want to be the best and competes against each other is a "magical reason" and you got the answer in Ovie chosing not to do his best and score as many goals as he could? Interesting...

He had other guys on the team who were putting goals in the net. It was brought up many times that season. He didn't have to do all the work. The Caps were playing a team game that season. Ironically the team game failed to step up in the playoffs.

 

[Fallschirmyager]

You got to remember who the target was in that celebration. Don Cherry. I know what i'm about to say might get a little heat, but Ovechkin should have been the poster boy of the NHL. Yes i get it NHL, Ovechkin is the rugged looking russian while Sid is the good looking Canadian boy you want your daughter to date. But OV has the better personality. And Ovechkin had a chance to be the poster child 2010-13, but yhey stuck with Sid.

I've always thought the leagues should have promoted both of them heavily but they didn't. The chose the kid who has been so well coached to be non offensive and to appear squeaky clean to advertisers. personally I think his behind the scenes personality is likely pretty normal and he only gets reserved when in public. The league really missed it on that one.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

So believing players want to be the best and compete against each other is a "magical reason" and you got the answer in Ovie chosing not to do his best and thusly not score as many goals as he could? Interesting...

At least I'm glad he has elected to score more now then.

I think more than individual accomplishments, it was winning the Stanley Cup that truly motivated Ovechkin to be better after the 2016-17 season. When his efforts were rewarded with the Stanley Cup last year, it motivated him to work even harder to defend the championship.

 

[Eye of Ra]

he lost his energy and physicality he played with some years ago

 

[BallardEra]

he lost his energy and physicality he played with some years ago

He's a lot smarter. More energy efficient and doesn't chase unnecessary hits like he used to:

"As soon as you get a little older, you realize when you have to get a hit and when you have to take a hit," Ovechkin said. "You can see right now in the playoffs it's different hockey. Of course, every shift you try to do something out there, but in the regular year you don't have to run around and hit everybody because if a game is 5-2 or 4-1 you don't have to do it. Obviously you have to play smarter and try to do different things."


'Russian machine' Alex Ovechkin reaches 1,000 games in remarkable fashion | CBC Sports

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

I <3 Ovie. Always have, always will. So glad he's changed and adapted his game in small ways to fit his age and the modern NHL. Dude was just a monster in the early years, never thought he'd be smart enough to actually evolve his style though. Lol at like 5 years ago when he got a slow start and people wondered if he was done.

 

[Alex K]

 

[Chukcha]

How do you know that? He had 33 goals in 82 games, while Matthews scored 40 as a rookie and Crosby won the Rocket. Of course these things might spur him to work out harder in the summer. Ovie did not look particularly fit three years ago. He seems to have lost a lot of weight.

his TOI and S% enormously dropped that season. Trotz diminished his duties to "save freshness for a cup run" and he played all RS long on cruise control.

 

[Tuna Tatarrrrrr]

I think its an extremely arrogant celebration and I know that todays Ovie would never do something as egotistical as that

 

[Khomutov]

I think its an extremely arrogant celebration and I know that todays Ovie would never do something as egotistical as that

That was one of the best goal celebrations of all time.

 

[LegendaryNumber5]

That was one of the best goal celebrations of all time.

 

[BallardEra]

 

[JasonRoseEh]

I've always thought the leagues should have promoted both of them heavily but they didn't. The chose the kid who has been so well coached to be non offensive and to appear squeaky clean to advertisers. personally I think his behind the scenes personality is likely pretty normal and he only gets reserved when in public. The league really missed it on that one.

It's why to this day Ovechkin remains the most popular player in the league and it isn't that close. He never received the superstar push in Toronto because they don't embrace foreign players the same as Canadian, that's the truth. If Ovi got the full backing of the NHL he would've been able to spread the game more than he did.

he lost his energy and physicality he played with some years ago

He hasn't, he just doesn't chase it. I mean he probably has the best hit of the year against Vegas's Nosek and any time people try to step on him they generally get sat down.

 

[JasonRoseEh]

I saw that he had 8 shots on goals last night. Sounds like he feels that he should have buried a couple more.

Credit Hutton who played spectacularly. Don't hold the score against him, he faced a ton of grade A scoring chances and saved a lot of sure goals.

 

[bobbyking]

Notice something about the top 10 in pts so far?

#1 Rantanen has #2 MacK
#3 McDavid has #8 Draisaitl
#4 Kucherov has #10 Point
#5 Scheifele has #6 Wheeler
#7 Ovechkin has ??

This isn't too say OV plays with scrubs, obviously we know how great Backstrom/Kuznetsov and the caps are. The point is when it comes to the Hart, other than McDavid, how do you tell who's more valuable between 2 team/linemates who are neck and neck in pts? OV doesn't have that problem and throw in his huge lead in goals over these players (which I bet gets even bigger) and he's got a really strong case for the Hart if things continue this way.

Backstrom and kuznetsov are both better then draisatl

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

How do you know that? He had 33 goals in 82 games, while Matthews scored 40 as a rookie and Crosby won the Rocket. Of course these things might spur him to work out harder in the summer. Ovie did not look particularly fit three years ago. He seems to have lost a lot of weight.

He was playing with an injured wrist for half that season and it was obvious to anyone who watched the games. Of course unlike certain players, OV doesn't sit out so his PPG/GPG looks good, he just plays through it.

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

Backstrom and kuznetsov are both better then draisatl

I know that. But that's not the point.

 

[ALLCAPSALLTHETIME]

He was playing with an injured wrist for half that season and it was obvious to anyone who watched the games. Of course unlike certain players, OV doesn't sit out so his PPG/GPG looks good, he just plays through it.

Yeah, his hands were like hamburger that year from the constant hacking and whacking.

Glad the NHL is cracking down on the slashing. I mean, someone actually got their finger nearly severed a couple of years ago.

 

[Chain Attack]

Once upon a time, Ovechkin was going head-to-head with the likes of Jagr, Selanne, Iginla, Kovalchuk, Heatley and Nash for the title of best goal scorer. This year he is not only competing against but besting Laine, Mackinnon, Matthews and all these young lions for top spot. The fact that Ovechkin is still at the top of the goal scoring mountain after all these years is nothing short of remarkable when you consider goal scoring is perhaps the hardest thing to maintain as you age. All of a sudden Gretzky’s records, which looked like distant stars a decade ago, have become a realistic target moving forward.

 

[txpd]

Ovechkin did less because he didn't have to. He had a lot of guys step up to the plate that season. I know you want to believe it was some magical reason, but it wasn't.

Not to argue but if you recall, Trotz talked to him about the changing nature of the game and the need for speed and quickness. That his game was aging and that he needed to change himself and his game in order to remain the player he had been. This game after that 30 goal season. He took all that to heart and the Rocket Trophy and the Cup followed a long.

I think that had more to do with losing in the playoffs than Matthews and Laine and McDavid and a teammate, Oshie, scoring as many goals as he did.

 

[txpd]

Yeah, his hands were like hamburger that year from the constant hacking and whacking.

Glad the NHL is cracking down on the slashing. I mean, someone actually got their finger nearly severed a couple of years ago.

BTW....THIS is the main reason that scoring is up in the NHL. No sticks on the hands. No touchy. Do it and you get the box. Now that they cant pound Ov's hands the lenth of his elite scoring career is extended.