Rocket Richard Race (2021-22)

[BallardEra]

1. Matthews - 47 (18 GR)
2. Draisaitl - 47 (16 GR)
3. Kreider - 44 (17 GR)
4. Ovechkin - 42 (15 GR)
5. Connor - 41 (16 GR)

Click to read more...

 

[User9992]

I think it's over. Draisaitl gonna win it easily. He is above GPG pace currently & seem he is in his peak.

 

[Kerberos]

Don't see Kreider or Mangiapane hanging around on that list by the end of the season.

Do expect to see Matthews potentially work himself into a top 5 spot though.

In the end, it's going to be one hell of a race between Drai and Ovechkin.

 

[KoozNetsOff 92]

I think it's over. Draisaitl gonna win it easily. He is above GPG pace currently & seem he is in his peak.

Drai is shooting over 30%. That won't last. He's obviously the favourite right now but nothing is over and nothing will be easy.

 

[Demandedace]

Drai is having some insane puck luck right now, it's gonna come down a bit. He's definitely going to break 50 though the question just remains by how much

Should be a good race this year

Edit: Apparently the low angle shot for him is a regular thing so I retract and have omitted that part

 

[WesMcCauley]

As a NYR fan i am happy if Kreider gets 30. The guy is the face of "he is finally breaking out" club and never actually doing it... He has looked amazing so far but i have no confidence in him breaking 70 points or scoring 40 goals.

 

[Kerberos]

Drai is having some insane puck luck right now, it's gonna come down a bit. His 19th goal tonight especially was just a prayer at the net lol - he's definitely going to break 50 though the question just remains by how much

Should be a good race this year

Draisaitl has scored more than a few of those types of goals already this year and tons that are a mirror image of his 19th throughout his career.

Incredibly quick release and he knows where to put it if there's any sort of space.

 

[VainGretzky]

Drai is shooting over 30%. That won't last. He's obviously the favourite right now but nothing is over and nothing will be easy.

It's never easy to win the Rocket with Ovie in the league , so many times in his career he puts up 10 in 3/4 game stretches

 

[troyerlaw]

Wasn’t there a season where Drai would have either tied Ovie for the Rocket or won it outright but then Justin Faulk or Torey Krug or some other Dman robbed Draisaitl of ENG with sick hand-eye coordination, batting high-lofted puck out of the air and off target. It was last game of the season and puck looked like it was well over the defenseman’s head and on target toward the empty net.

EDIT: found it. Looks like maybe it’s Calgary’s Rasmus Andersson who bats puck out of the air? Hell of a play, whoever it was. We Ovie fans appreciated it.

 

[jetsforever]

Definitely looks like it'll be Kreider or Mangiapane, I bet both get at least 50

 

[Demandedace]

Wasn’t there a season where Drai would have either tied Ovie for the Rocket or won it outright but then Justin Faulk or Torey Krug or some other Dman robbed Draisaitl of ENG with sick hand-eye coordination, batting high-lofted puck out of the air and off target. It was last game of the season and puck looked like it was well over the defenseman’s head and on target toward the empty net.

EDIT: found it

Yup, 2018-19 he would have tied Ovi at 51 and was robbed

 

[MessierII]

Drai is shooting over 30%. That won't last. He's obviously the favourite right now but nothing is over and nothing will be easy.

Draisaitl has shot 21% over the past 4 seasons. He always has an insane shooting %. If he’s having his best year yet it might not come down that much.

 

[OilWagon]

Drai is having some insane puck luck right now, it's gonna come down a bit. His 19th goal tonight especially was just a prayer at the net lol - he's definitely going to break 50 though the question just remains by how much

Should be a good race this year

A good portion of his goals are from that exact same spot. He's the best in the league at scoring from that sharp angle.

 

[Demandedace]

Draisaitl has shot 21% over the past 4 seasons. He always has an insane shooting %. If he’s having his best year yet it might not come down that much.

His career average (keeping his current 29.9%) is 17.7%.

Current shots at that % would leave him at 12 goals which is a sizable difference (using his four year % of 21 would leave him at 14).

If he were to shoot at his career average for the rest of the season while maintaining his current shots/game (3.5) he would end with 59 goals (39 over the remaining games). If he shoots at his four year average the rest of the season he would end with 66 goals (46 over the remaining games).

He certainly has the potential to hit 60 if he has a bit of a career year, but I wouldn't put my money on 66 goals.

 

[Demandedace]

A good portion of his goals are from that exact same spot. He's the best in the league at scoring from that sharp angle.

That slick lefty release, dude has German precision

 

[Del Preston]

Wasn’t there a season where Drai would have either tied Ovie for the Rocket or won it outright but then Justin Faulk or Torey Krug or some other Dman robbed Draisaitl of ENG with sick hand-eye coordination, batting high-lofted puck out of the air and off target. It was last game of the season and puck looked like it was well over the defenseman’s head and on target toward the empty net.

EDIT: found it

That would have been his only empty netter of the season too.

I drove down to Calgary for that game and was in the pisser when he scored #50.

 

[MessierII]

His career average (keeping his current 29.9%) is 17.7%.

Current shots at that % would leave him at 12 goals which is a sizable difference (using his four year % of 21 would leave him at 14).

If he were to shoot at his career average for the rest of the season while maintaining his current shots/game (3.5) he would end with 59 goals (39 over the remaining games). If he shoots at his four year average the rest of the season he would end with 66 goals (46 over the remaining games).

He certainly has the potential to hit 60 if he has a bit of a career year, but I wouldn't put my money on 66 goals.

The last time he scored 50 a few years ago he shot at 21.6%. It’s not out of the question he shoots close to 25% this year.

 

[Demandedace]

The last time he scored 50 a few years ago he shot at 21.6%. It’s not out of the question he shoots close to 25% this year.

I don't follow your logic on this one. If he once shot at 21.65% three years ago how does that relate to him potentially shooting ~8% above his career average this year?

 

[The Moose is Loose]

Drai is having some insane puck luck right now, it's gonna come down a bit. His 19th goal tonight especially was just a prayer at the net lol - he's definitely going to break 50 though the question just remains by how much

Should be a good race this year

His 1st goal tonight was a nice shot, what are you talking about?

 

[troyerlaw]

Definitely looks like it'll be Kreider or Mangiapane, I bet both get at least 50

For sure. Smart money’s on those two

 

[The Moose is Loose]

As for the rocket race as others have said it’ll come down to Drai/Ovi

Outside shot to McDavid and Connor, maybe Matthews if he really really starts heating up. Mangiapane and Kreider likely don’t stick around this leaderboard much longer

 

[troyerlaw]

Drai is having some insane puck luck right now, it's gonna come down a bit. His 19th goal tonight especially was just a prayer at the net lol - he's definitely going to break 50 though the question just remains by how much …

Well he’s definitely gonna win if he scored 19 tonight. That should give him a cushion from here on out

 

[Captain97]

Can we all just appreciate that Ovi is tied for second at 36.

 

[Demandedace]

His 1st goal tonight was a nice shot, what are you talking about?

Looked to me originally like he just fired it at the net as the rebound came to him and got it between pad/glove but apparently that's a pretty common shot for him (I don't watch a lot of Edm) so it's less prayer and more a regular precision shot for him

 

[The Moose is Loose]

Looked to me originally like he just fired it at the net as the rebound came to him and got it between pad/glove but apparently that's a pretty common shot for him (I don't watch a lot of Edm) so it's less prayer and more a regular precision shot for him

Yes he is an expert at that shot. Scores a very large percentage of his goal from that exact spot.