This HAS to be sarcasm, right? An empty net goal is one of the most important goals a team can score. It basically ends the game in your favor. The only (regular-season) goals more important than empty netters are overtime goals (for which .. oh hey .. Ovechkin is the all-time leader).
Yeah, that's why it's important to look at the facts and not just trust the narrative that the majority on HFBoards try to push. Crosby isn't all that he's hyped up to be...
Nah, Crosby most definitely is a top 10 player ever. Try to appreciate both players, both came into the league at the exact same time with massive expectations, and both became top 10 players of all time in completely different fashions. Some prefer Ovechkin, some Crosby. Personally, I’d take Crosby as I think his style is more conducive to winning playoff rounds, but there’s certainly strong arguments to Ovy.
That’s true. Having Malkin who was the Pittsburgh leading scorer on 2/3 Cups was a great testimony to Crosby‘s playing abilities. Having Kessel who was the leading scorer on 1/3 was another one. Crosby was so smart and clutch that he didn’t even ever need to lead his team in points in the winning runs. Nor was he ever asked to carry his team in the SCF.
Oh I forgot, having great teammates is a negative, and the fact that they performed well diminishes Crosby. He would have been better off not winning those cups
It does, in a way. Crosby was never the guy when Pittsburgh won. He wasn’t even the closest thing to the guy when they won.
Despite whatever theories or opinions you have about his 3 Cups, he won consecutive Conn Smythes which would suggest he was certainly the guy. Now it would be foolish to suggest he carried the team on his back, as you said he had lots of help (hence why they won the cup lol). But if this is an Ovy vs Crosby Conn Smythe thing you’re trying to push, I find that odd considering he was outscored by 5 points to a teammate, and could have also been outscored by Backstrom if he didn’t miss 4 games during that cup run. Moral of the story, great players need great teammates to win championships
It was a direct response to his performances in those playoff runs, this wasn’t my “trump card” for why I think Crosby is the better player than Ovy, and I certainly wouldn’t lead with the Conn Smythe argument to make my case, that being said your post underrates his performance and falls into the trap of looking purely at stats, Crosby was a 2-way beast for those runs and anyone who watched the games would attest. Now, I’m not really interested in a Crosby vs Ovy debate, as I firmly believe both are top 10 players of all time, and while they’re vastly different players, they’re remarkably close from a historical perspective. I’ll always believe Crosby was the better, more complete hockey player, but Ovechkins goal scoring is simply undeniable and I can’t fault anyone for preferring him
If you define "2-way beast" as tons of goals going in for both teams, absolutely. Somehow I don't believe that's your angle here though.
Kessel was robbed in 2016 and you know it.
I thought he was great throughout the playoffs, so was Kuznetsov who scored 5 more points than Ovechkin. Either way, we could go on forever about players who some felt were “robbed” of major awards across all sports. Again, don’t want to take anything away from Ovechkin, always been a fan of his and he’s firmly in my own top 10 all time
You should present your findings to the PHWA who voted in his Conn Smythe that you uncovered their scheme to get Crosby that award. Great investigative work, Crosby has been overrated this entire time and the media has tricked us, my world has turned upside down
Not really surprising when goals are primary points.
Also known as game winning goals, Ovechkin is 2nd All Time, he’ll likely be first by the end of his career.
records.nhl.com
Also known as game winning goals, Ovechkin is 2nd All Time, he’ll likely be first by the end of his career.
Jagr is first.
NHL Records
