Old Gregg
I'm Old Gregg!!
- Apr 13, 2010
- 2,413
- 453
OV is now a player that requires another player to do something first in order for him to be effective. It's not that he's not trying; it's that more needs to go right in order for him to show up on a scoresheet. He doesn't need that many clean looks to beat a goaltender, but getting clean looks is a chore and beyond his control in a lot of ways. There's more variables involved in a sequence where OV scores than one where Kessel does.
And with as tightly as the Pens are checking him, he really doesn't have the space to get clean shots off. Every time the puck goes to him, someone just steps right into the space dead center in front of his body. Can't shoot like that. 8 years ago, his acceleration prevented this type of aggressive gapping, but that acceleration isn't there anymore, and hasn't been for a while.
Basically, he's a linebacker Brett Hull now, instead of a power forward Pavel Bure. The player he is now is still pretty effective, but he's a lot easier to mark than he used to be--and that's an athleticism thing, not a desire thing.
His shot still scares the **** out of me. I mean last game he's not noticeable but if not for Fleury's glove getting a piece of the puck last night he almost tied up the game.