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.

 

[SkinsFan09]

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

Nobody here is arguing he was a bad player or that Ovechkin is better, we're talking strictly about goal scoring and the fact is his plummeted as the league remained ultra high scoring through 1995-96.

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

So has it been established what the Caps have sacrificed yet? One of the top offensive teams in the NHL, among the fewest goals allowed, one of the best goal differentials, cruising to a playoff spot....

Sure sounds like they've given up everything to get OV to 895?

 

[Blades Ov Steel]

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.

I completely agree!

it doesn’t stop there, everyone in the Capitals organization, from the scouts and trainers to the farm team (Bears) and beyond, is absolutely top-tier.
.

 

[Golden_Jet]

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

He was 8th in points, not second in last 6 years.

NHL Stats

The official source for NHL Stats including skaters, goalies, teams stats and more.

www.nhl.com

 

[Toby91ca]

He was 8th in points, not second in last 6 years.

NHL Stats

The official source for NHL Stats including skaters, goalies, teams stats and more.

www.nhl.com

You only did the final 5 seasons, not 6....probably because you counted 95/96 season as 2 due to the move to STL. Anyway, as someone already suggested, doesn't matter, question is goals.

That said my comment was more in relation to a question as to whether Gretzky hung around the last few years....absolutely not, he was still one of the top scorers. Goal scoring dried up for sure. When I think about it, OV not that different in that there are areas of his game that have dried up quite a bit, but he still scores with the best of them....so he's not limping through at this point. This is now where I'll say he never will, because he'll get the record....if he turns into a 10-15 goal scorer after already having the record, there is no way he sticks around just to move the total up a bit at a time.

 

[Golden_Jet]

You only did the final 5 seasons, not 6....probably because you counted 95/96 season as 2 due to the move to STL. Anyway, as someone already suggested, doesn't matter, question is goals.

Yep I did oops

 

[OilersFanatics505]

It was my original narrative when the season started… but admittedly the stats speak differently across the whole season and even the eye test speaks differently.

 

[Toby91ca]

So has it been established what the Caps have sacrificed yet? One of the top offensive teams in the NHL, among the fewest goals allowed, one of the best goal differentials, cruising to a playoff spot....

If I'm being honest, the Debbie Downer in me might suggest this team is prime to take a big step back next year....but who knows. I'm just thinking, all the moves they made have been homeruns, most of the players on the team are playing at their very best....that doesn't tend to continue to happen. I think the team as a whole is energized with the goal chase.....I do wonder what happens when that goes away?

Not to compare to Vancouver, but they were really good last year because everyone was having career years (not literally, but close) and now they aren't so good.

 

[AfroThunder396]

Washington is legitimately good but they are also riding an unprecedented PDO wave. Eventually some of that is going to run dry and we'll see how they are able to respond.

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

If I'm being honest, the Debbie Downer in me might suggest this team is prime to take a big step back next year....but who knows. I'm just thinking, all the moves they made have been homeruns, most of the players on the team are playing at their very best....that doesn't tend to continue to happen. I think the team as a whole is energized with the goal chase.....I do wonder what happens when that goes away?

Not to compare to Vancouver, but they were really good last year because everyone was having career years (not literally, but close) and now they aren't so good.

That big step back was supposed to be this season. The Caps snuck into the playoffs last season and were called PDO merchants. See the above post.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Washington is legitimately good but they are also riding an unprecedented PDO wave. Eventually some of that is going to run dry and we'll see how they are able to respond.

4 of the top 5 teams in the league have the highest PDO.
NJ is 6th.

 

[NOTENOUGHRYJOTHINGS]

So has it been established what the Caps have sacrificed yet? One of the top offensive teams in the NHL, among the fewest goals allowed, one of the best goal differentials, cruising to a playoff spot....

Sure sounds like they've given up everything to get OV to 895?

Sacrificing their draft position.

This confirms Ovi is selfish.

Crosby is a team first player making sure the Pens are able to draft high enough to replace him and Malkin.

 

[Golden_Jet]

This thread didn’t age well, , like most thought.

 

[AfroThunder396]

That big step back was supposed to be this season. The Caps snuck into the playoffs last season and were called PDO merchants. See the above post.

They were PDO merchants last year and got f***ing annihilated in the playoffs, just like everyone thought they would.

4 of the top 5 teams in the league have the highest PDO.
NJ is 6th.

The 2025 Capitals PDO is the highest PDO since the 1978 Islanders. Higher than the 2023 Bruins. There's a difference between high PDO and the best PDO in 40 years. Interestingly the Jets are right there with them.

 

[I Hate Blake Coleman]

They were PDO merchants last year and got f***ing annihilated in the playoffs, just like everyone thought they would.

And they've significantly improved since then.

 

[Blades Ov Steel]

Washington is legitimately good but they are also riding an unprecedented PDO wave. Eventually some of that is going to run dry and we'll see how they are able to respond.

This has been repeated countless times...eventually a broken clock is right on time though.

 

[SkinsFan09]

They were PDO merchants last year and got f***ing annihilated in the playoffs, just like everyone thought they would.

Eh they were a -37 goal differential and got a ton of loser points last year in an awful conference. That's more why people thought they would get destroyed rather than their shooting percentage.