Is there a narrative that the Capitals are sacrificing everything to get Ovechkin the Goal Record? Is there a double standard with regards to Crosby?

[Lou Sassole]

I think that's largely untrue, except for the occasional dingbat on both sides. There's a Caps fan who is still digging his grave on the "37pts in 22gp is NOT PPG" thing.

By now, I would be confident in suggesting that the rivalry between the Pens and Caps (and, more specifically, Sid and Ovi) has cooled down quite a bit and that both fan bases are appreciative of both players. I know I am.

I want Ovi to break the record so while I'm still a Pens fan, I'm rooting for him to continue scoring.

As a Caps fan, it does go both ways, Hell, there are still Caps fans(and other teams), that have trouble acknowledging how great Mario was(which is insanity). It clearly goes both ways and pops up more on one side or the other, depending on how each guy and their teams, are performing. People are crazy tribal, we are just wired that way.

 

[SEALBound]

Whereas I believe a per game stat should have a minimum games played in order to count towards an entire "season," you apparently believe there should be no standard what-so-ever.

MLB has a minimum 550 at-bats in order for a player to win a batting average title for a given season. You believe MLB is 'digging its own grave' with this "dingbat" standard because ___________________.

Truly, I am interested in what your rational basis is here.

Then go watch the MLB.

There has never been a basis for what constitutes a "season" for a player in terms of % of games played. You are making this up literally out of thin air because you don't like Crosby.

(mod)

My rational basis is 37pts divided by 22gp equals 1.68 points per game. And that is greater than or equal to 1.0 points per game.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

The next person who makes things personal in this thread will receive a thread ban and five points for their troubles.

You have been warned.

It's the same damn people every single time.

 

[DingDongCharlie]

I completely agree. He’s had a great year this year so far and is proving me wrong. Kudos to him.

But thinking he’d have a worse season than he has at this age doesn’t make me a hater. People are just so sensitive on these boards. Especially Ovi fans.

I don't see that as being a hater (I shouldn't have highlighted that part), if anything your expectation is more than reasonable. I think everyone is surprised Ovechkin is still able to produce as he is. Even the biggest Ovie fan must be somewhat surprised a guy who's turning 40 in Sept can be leading the league in goals a 1/4 into the season.

Other people that complain that his linemates are setting him up to get the record I find those takes bad also. Why wouldn't you get the puck to the guy who despite his age, has the ability to get the puck in the back of the net with such regularity.

This isn't like Marleau sticking around to get the games played record at a point where in my eyes he didn't even look like be belonged in the NHL anymore. Or when Yandle who was down right horrid aiming for the ironman streak.

 

[DingDongCharlie]

The Caps can do whatever they want to please their fan base. If that is going all out for OV's goal record? Power to them. This is not a shot at Crosby. Crosby record stand on its own. I've never understood the hate between Crosby and OV fans. Why can we not celebrate that two of the all time top 10 players in history played in the same era?

No doubt. Crosby and Ovechkin literally brought a ton of excitement into the league coming out of the lockout.

 

[filinski77]

My rational basis is 37pts divided by 22gp equals 1.68 points per game. And that is greater than or equal to 1.0 points per game. So I guess my rational basis is the "simple math". Sorry facts hurt your feelings.

I think we need to use some common sense though.

If Ovechkin was out for the season after that hit, it would 1000% face backlash for someone to use this following logic: "Ovechkin had 15 goals in 18 games - that is 0.83 goals per game and is a 68 goal pace. Ovechkin that season was better than any of the guys who scored 50-60 actual goals".

It is a statistical fact in hockey that it is harder to maintain a per game pace the more games you play in a season, and that the less games you play in a sample, the less indicative it is of what a real full seasons result would have been. We have seen this with all elite players.

The question is how far is too far. I agree that it's fair to say that Crosby putting up 37 in 22gp can lend you to assume he is better than 80 in 80gp. But however, it isn't as clear to assume that it's better than 100 points in 82gp.

When the discussion becomes "is 22 games enough to say that this person finished first in points per game?" My assessment is no. Just like if Ovi only played 15 games this season, that wouldn't be enough to really consider it a 1st place goal/gp finish when comparing him to people at season-end.

 

[zappa4ever]

///

My rational basis is 37pts divided by 22gp equals 1.68 points per game. And that is greater than or equal to 1.0 points per game. So I guess my rational basis is the "simple math". ///

Not to belabor the point, curious...
since 22GP at PPG+ you consider a PPG "season"

Is there a cutoff/minimum number of games played per season at all for you?
20GP? 10GP? 5GP?
Or does 1 single game played with 1 point considered a PPG season?

 

[filinski77]

I think we could just close the thread, as it seems there isn’t the narrative OP thought there was.

I think the answer to the threat title is clear.

YES - some posters have made a narrative that the Caps were sacrificing everything to get Ovi the record. This is evident by hundreds of posts on Ovi/Capitals threads about this.

NO - those posters were not correct. This is evident by the capitals success in their rebuild and season performance, while also maintaining/building a good talent pool at the same time.

NO - the penguins haven't been sacrificing anything on the behalf of Crosby. They made some bat bets on an aging team and have put themselves in a bad situation for sure, but that has more to do with having an aging core of superstars they wanted to do good by (Crosby, Malkin, Letang), and nothing to do with trying to get Crosby any kind of personal record or accolade.

 

[SEALBound]

Not to belabor the point, curious...
since 22GP at PPG+ you consider a PPG "season"

Is there a cutoff/minimum number of games played per season at all for you?
20GP? 10GP? 5GP?
Or does 1 single game played with 1 point considered a PPG season?

Yes. Now, if you want to come back and say "yeah, it was a PPG season but he only played X games" as a point of discussion, fine. But to say "I've arbitrarily decided that Sid did NOT play enough game for it to be considered a season therefore his 37pts in 22gp do not count" is, again, asinine.

Especially given that we are talking about Sidney Crosby in his prime.

 

[zappa4ever]

Yes. Now, if you want to come back and say "yeah, it was a PPG season but he only played X games" as a point of discussion, fine. But to say "I've arbitrarily decided that Sid did NOT play enough game for it to be considered a season therefore his 37pts in 22gp do not count" is, again, asinine.

Especially given that we are talking about Sidney Crosby in his prime.

That's totally fine, appreciate the response, a consistent absolutist position regardless of games played (even 1 ) is certainly a valid position
Cheers

 

[SkinsFan09]

The Capitals are the third-fastest team to reach 100 goals in the last 30 years and the fastest since the 2005-06 Senators.

While everyone is focused on the development of their forwards, the bigger story is on defense. Last year they were 30th in points from the back end in the NHL. 24 games into this season they are 1st with 70 points. Last year Capitals defensemen scored just 20 goals, this year they already have 16 with 58 games left.

 

[philip]

This is one of the best rebuilds on the fly I think there has been in recent years. Tanking for picks and being deliberately bad to fudge the draft system in a professional sport is for losers imo and not to be admired. To try and turn what the Caps have done into a negative, some how purely in the interests of Ovechkin is mental gymnastics difficult to comprehend. Becoming more competitive despite aging and injured core is brilliant GMing. This is the best iteration of Caps since 2018. Without getting carried away, could be even better? (there, I said it) Fantastic achievement so far