Ovechkin milestone thread - 850 and Beyond!

[KoozNetsOff 92]

It's not at the peak of the dead puck era, but it was already started.

FFs i was there and watched the entirety of it. Scoring started going down around 93.

And anyway you want to slice it, 95-96 has about the same scoring rate as today and he scored 69 in 70.

Not sure what you watched because 92/93 and 93/94 are the 2 highest scoring seasons of the last 30 years.

Lemieux was great. This thread isn't about him. It's hilarious but sad at the same time that people like you and the usual clowns keep derailing a thread meant to celebrate a players accomplishments. "Lemieux was better", "no one else attempts ENGs", "but but on ice for 2 GA". Lol y'all must have real sad lives. And everyone knows who I'm talking about.

 

[SovietWings]

Based off his current season pace, he is scheduled to pass Howe at home versus Montreal on 12/31 in the third period.

Of course in the third..it's usually hard to score an emptynetter in the first or second

 

[SovietWings]

Not sure if it is the record. 4 empty net goals in a row without a regular goal is impressive. Hard to imagine anybody got 5 in a row. This is the kind of hockey knowledge that is hard to get. Maybe @Big Phil knows if anybody has managed to score 5 empty net goals in a row?

GAMINGDEPUTY

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It looks like 4 is the record (hold by multiple players). So we will see a new record next game!

 

[Mulletman]

GAMINGDEPUTY

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It looks like 4 is the record (hold by multiple players). So we will see a new record next game!

Don't think Ovechkin will get the record as he plays Chicago next and Chicago is getting scored on like crazy. So most likely a regular goal or two incomming next for Ovechkin...

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Well played sir.

Willing to take jersey number requests for the remaining goals

 

[NORiculous]

Oates turned Hull into a goal per game machine

As soon as Oates was gone, boom Hull scores less and Neely is turned into a goal per game machine. It's simplistic, but it's a strong correlation.

Also, Mario Lemieux is the best scorer ever. He has the very best career goals per game, despite injuries, despite playing part of his career in the dead puck era and despite playing in old age. Nobody will touch his career goals per game. Not only Lemieux could score as much as Hull without an Oates or even a Jagr, he could also turn a Hull into a gpg machine.

Very good points.

I removed Bossy and Lemieux from the equation because they didn’t passe the 1000+ games.

I admit it is an arbitrary line but it is a symbolic one too.

But other then that, I don’t disagree with what you said.

 

[Macbanan]

Do we know for sure Gretzky won't return as an ENG-specialist to extend the record a bit?

 

[Randyne]

Also, Mario Lemieux is the best scorer ever. He has the very best career goals per game, despite injuries, despite playing part of his career in the dead puck era and despite playing in old age. Nobody will touch his career goals per game.

Wrong. You didn't adjust eras.
Adjusted GPG all time, w/o this season
Ovechkin .694
Lemieux .673
M. Richard .668
P. Bure .660
M. Bossy .613
Ovechkin is the greatest goalscorer all time by any metrics, despite playing 3-6 hundreds games more than his nearest pursuers, despite playing through injuries without resting

 

[JediOrderPizza]

Oh, they play the Wings the 19th. He's totally gonna tie Gordie that game. Probably even get 802.

 

[PaulD]

Looks like Sid Vicious

Wrong. You didn't adjust eras.
Adjusted GPG all time, w/o this season
Ovechkin .694
Lemieux .673
M. Richard .668
P. Bure .660
M. Bossy .613
Ovechkin is the greatest goalscorer all time by any metrics, despite playing 3-6 hundreds games more than his nearest pursuers, despite playing through injuries without resting

Nah.
Ide take Bossy over OV.
Mario.
Wayne.

 

[gtrower]

My favorite part of all this is the outrage at the capitals for having the audacity to strategize getting the puck to the greatest goal scorer of all time when there’s an opportunity to score a goal. Like that somehow isn’t the most logical thing to do.

 

[Randyne]

Nah.
Ide take Bossy over OV.

752 games is not a career. Only 9 seasons with 82 games.
In his first 760 games Ovechkin adjusted GPG was .716.
Bossy was a tier below.
It's like you are choosing a 50 G player over a 59 G player.
But whatever, haters always choose unreasonably.

 

[shtorm2005]

There is an easy solution for teams to stop padding Ovy's stats. just quit playing against Caps with an empty net. Your coach can stop this madness.

 

[Sweetpotato]

As an Oiler fan that grew up idolizing Gretzky, it floors me that people still don't think OV is the greatest goal scorer ever. It's been about 2 seasons now where even if he doesn't break the record I've accepted and enjoyed it.

 

[PaulD]

752 games is not a career. Only 9 seasons with 82 games.
In his first 760 games Ovechkin adjusted GPG was .716.
Bossy was a tier below.
It's like you are choosing a 50 G player over a 59 G player.
But whatever, haters always choose unreasonably.

Do you hate Bossy ?

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

As an Oiler fan that grew up idolizing Gretzky, it floors me that people still don't think OV is the greatest goal scorer ever. It's been about 2 seasons now where even if he doesn't break the record I've accepted and enjoyed it.

Exactly.

 

[PaulD]

As an Oiler fan that grew up idolizing Gretzky, it floors me that people still don't think OV is the greatest goal scorer ever. It's been about 2 seasons now where even if he doesn't break the record I've accepted and enjoyed it.

Then by all means..... get up off the floor, accept, and enjoy other fans opinions and preferences.

 

[Guided by Veseys]

Ovechkin will need to score more than 60 goals at an age higher than Gretzky was when he retired. If he is able to manage that, ENG or not, that’s pretty f***ing impressive and it should truly legitimize him as absolutely the best goal scorer ever and truly deserving of holding the goals record. Guy was an absolute power forward and played like a bull.

I am all for the ENG now. Its going to be hilarious in 2 years to see him all grey bearded and pot bellied trying for the empty netters.

 

[Jags]

Saying I have no argument is also false. I've repeated twice something that proves you its debatable. 00-01 Lemieux vs 21-22 Ovy, yet you keep ignoring it. That sample offers very similar league-wide factors, and Lemieux beats Ovy in GPG in that instance.

It's a milestone thread. We're talking about careers here. Mario's was cut short, unfortunately. Hull didn't have the staying power Ovechkin has. Gretzky's goal-scoring ability waned long before he stopped playing. Ovechkin is the greatest goal-scorer of his era, hands down, AND has somehow managed to maintain that ability and pace over a CRAZY long time. That's what'll make him the best ever when it's all said and done.

Mario's GPG is also crazy impressive, and no one who saw him play will ever forget how masterful he was. But the smoking and the conditioning and the cancer and the back injuries shortened his career. He didn't have that falloff that most guys have as their careers ebb. When his ailments caught up with him, he had to sit. When he played, he was Super Mario. If none of that stuff ever happened to him and if he wanted to play until he couldn't, he would have had that falloff and that GPG number would have dwindled. Probably still would have been a best-ever number, but it would have been considerably smaller.

That he had a peak season where this number was higher than Ovi's number or was better specifically at age X...? *shrug* What difference does that make? He balled out and had a freakish goal-scoring year. Good for him. Still wasn't the best year ever, and Ovi was never going to have a chance to break that one. No one's scoring that much these days. It'll never happen again unless the game drastically changes.

Comparing seasons across two eras when the game was different serves no purpose because it begs the question, "How would each guy have scored if they swapped eras?" Mario in 21-22, with guys as fast/strong/fit as they are now, the speed of the game even faster, and an era way more intensely focused on rush goals and breakaways because of the 2-line pass rule? Impossible to say how he would have held up.

But Ovi 20 years ago playing in a slower era, still with modern-ish sticks. It's not like he's a guy that scores on the rush a ton, so yeah, I think he coulda done what Mario did. And could he have scored 92 when Wayne did? Pffft. Ovi playing in that era would have looked like a Godzilla movie, only the big lizard woulda had a Russian accent and a front tooth missing...

 

[AD1066]

Bossy today is more likely a regular 40-goal scorer who eclipses 50 a handful of times. He just happened to play in the most favorable era ever for putting the puck in the net and then retired before his career GPG could fall naturally with age.

 

[Midnight Judges]

I'm not discrediting Ovy. That's your own creation based on some childish fanboy propensity to see any critical thought as an attack.

Relax, calm yourself, take a breather, I think what Ovy did his tremendous and is a top 3 goal scorer in the histoty of the game, but I personally think he's not the very best...

He is the best though, and there really is no rational basis for anyone else at this point. Peak, prime, longevity - Ovechkin is the total package.

Here is a bunch of data. It compares the best goal scorers of all time at the 5, 10, and 15 year marks. Obviously Ovie has continued to rack up the totals since then - moreso than anyone else on this list, but 15 years is a pretty good sample.

 

[Sun God Nika]

Do we know for sure Gretzky won't return as an ENG-specialist to extend the record a bit?

Imagine Gretzky at whatever age he is right now getting his first shift in the third period when the goalie gets pulled, McDavid feeds him a sweet pass and then he absolutely gets destroyed by a player like Johnny Gaudreau

 

[BallardEra]

Ovechkin will need to score more than 60 goals at an age higher than Gretzky was when he retired. If he is able to manage that, ENG or not, that’s pretty f***ing impressive and it should truly legitimize him as absolutely the best goal scorer ever and truly deserving of holding the goals record. Guy was an absolute power forward and played like a bull.

I am all for the ENG now. Its going to be hilarious in 2 years to see him all grey bearded and pot bellied trying for the empty netters.

After this season he pretty much has to match what Selanne did from his age 38-40 seasons.

Selanne played until 43 and added 47 more goals from his age 41-43 seasons.

Age 38 - 27 goals in 65 games (16 PP)
Age 39 - 27 goals in 54 games (14 PP)
Age 40 - 31 goals in 73 games (16 PP)

That’s a total of 85 goals with a goals per game pace of 0.44. (54% of his goals on the PP)

If Ovechkin hits 35 goals this season and matches the 85 goals of Selanne over the last 3 years of his contract then he finishes with an even 900 goals.

 

[BallardEra]

Gretzky scored 176 goals in 8 seasons from his age 31 season until he retired.

Ovechkin has 255 goals scored from his age 31 season coming into this season. (2022-23)

Stands at 255+17 = 272

 

[WarriorofTime]

My favorite part of all this is the outrage at the capitals for having the audacity to strategize getting the puck to the greatest goal scorer of all time when there’s an opportunity to score a goal. Like that somehow isn’t the most logical thing to do.

I doubt anybody on the Caps is able to score that putaway empty net goal last night from that part on the ice. Last I checked, scoring empty net goals is a good thing because it ices the game.

People act like the Caps are some big time Stanley Cup contender if it weren't for Ovechkin (leads the team in goals by eight, leads the team in points by eight ahead of a different guy, leads the team in even strength goals by five, leads the team in powerplay goals by two). They're a pretty lousy team and Ovechkin is still their best offensive weapon, him being out there to put games away is still helping the team.