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?

[SkinsFan09]

I don't know what to tell you. They even had a timer showing his shift length a few times. Announcers were making comments.

Maybe he only goes on when the refs have their hands up haha. I noticed they were very aggressive in delaying the PP starting. Interesting strategy

Just looked, and ya he leads the league in PP TOI/game. 4:23, next closest is 3:56

He's also the most efficient even strength goal scorer in the league right now. Yes in one game when they had a double minor he stayed on the ice for a really long shift in Philly but the production this year is not a function of simply being on the PP a lot as is easily evidenced by his even strength stats.

 

[DJJones]

He's also the most efficient even strength goal scorer in the league right now. Yes in one game when they had a double minor he stayed on the ice for a really long shift in Philly but the production this year is not a function of simply being on the PP a lot as is easily evidenced by his even strength stats.

It can be both. His shot is obviously still outrageous. But his PP TOI to total TOI must be leagues ahead of anyone else in the league. Plus 6 on 5 and 5 on 6 situations

 

[SkinsFan09]

It can be both. His shot is obviously still outrageous. But his PP TOI to total TOI must be leagues ahead of anyone else in the league. Plus 6 on 5 and 5 on 6 situations

Only 8 PP goals this year, this isn't like past seasons where his ES to PPG ratio was 50/50.

 

[DJJones]

Only 8 PP goals this year, this isn't like past seasons where his ES to PPG ratio was 50/50.

He has 14 5 on 5 goals. Which ya, that's still solid.

He's like 40 with a great shot. Of course they're giving him the easy minutes. It would be stupid not too.

 

[ColbyChaos]

Crosby is a better and far more complete player at this point. He's good enough that his play stops his team from tanking. So you either trade him or build some kind of team around him.

Ovechkin is extremely one dimensional at this point. The Caps aren't really doing what's in the best of interest of winning either. Honestly, I were the Caps, I'd kill two birds with one stone. Go full tank except for an Ovy led powerplay with a bunch of PP specialists. Ovy gets his record. The Caps get the rebuild.

2pts separate them from 4th worst in the league. Post aged incredibly

 

[Toby91ca]

What exactly was Gretzky doing the rest of his career after LA?

For the next 2 years he was 3rd in scoring…when he dropped to the 30s the year after that he retired.

While OV can look bad at times, it’s not like he’s sticking around to accumulate another 10-15 goals a year, he’s still putting up goals so this isn’t an argument right now and probably never will be because I guess he walks away from lack of motivation before it comes to that

 

[Toby91ca]

You should look at how many goals Gretzky scored in his final six seasons.

To be fair though, over his final 6 seasons Gretzky was 2nd in scoring

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

I've made this point before, but the Caps somehow, in the past couple of years, become one of the best-run and exciting organizations in hockey. Just a short time removed from being destined for slow death like the Penguins. The rapid turnaround has been amazing.

Just think about it what it's like to be a Caps fan now. You've got of a) the Ovy goal record chase, b) a winning team in potential cup contention and c) a really good list of top prospects who will make the team soon.

I don't know how they did it, but they did it.

It’s pretty sweet being a Caps fan, not going to lie. They’ve been the one constant bright spot for us during all our years of suffering when the Redskins/WFT/Commanders and Wizards were a joke and when the Nats sold away all their best players and entered the tank realm.

I, and a good chunk of Caps fans, always thought they were one of the best run teams in the league but for whatever reason that sentiment wasn’t shared externally or even within a different segment of Caps fans. Brian MacLellan and his team have always been very transparent and candid and always aggressively addressed what they perceived as weaknesses on the team.

He and his staff got the Caps over the hump to win in 2018 and they’ve threaded a very small needle in terms of keeping the team competitive now without bottoming out and creating a top ten prospect pipeline.