Ovechkin milestone thread - 850 and Beyond!

[Raymones]

I was at the 2005 WJC and there was quite a bit of disapproval of Ovechkin. The place was flooded with Canadian fans and many of these people thought Ovechkin didn't play the "right way". He was flashy, wore a tinted visor and celebrated goals like crazy.

When he was injured in the final a lot of them were laughing and saying he'd last 1 season in the almighty NHL if he continued with his "disrespectful" celebrations and wrecking-ball style.

And here we are on the verge of him breaking Gretzky's record.
It always puts a smile on my face remembering that game and the sentiments of those fans.

I was there as well. Great tournament in an amazing arena!

I remember feeling the hostility against Ovie amongst a huge part of canadian fans. Booing him whenever he got the puck, taunting him every time he made a mistake, took a hit, and when he was injured. I really never understood why (a nineteen year old kid ffs), but your post might tell most of the story. He was "non canadian" in so many ways.

Here he is, on the brink of breaking one of the "unbreakable records" by The Great One. I guess he is serving up some payback. It wouldn't surprise if that particular game is what motivated him, and still does. Very, very impressive, nonetheless.

 

[HabsCode]

Not that remarkable, considering he played from 1977-87, which was by far, the highest era in NHL history. If Ovechkin played from 1977-97, he likely would have hit 50 goals in at least 14 of those seasons, and probably broke Gretzky's goal scoring season record.

If it’s not remarkable, why was he the only one able to do it in this era?

 

[M2Beezy]

Would just like to say thank you to Chicago for gifting us Strome. Hes a legit 1C and on one of the best contracts in the league.

Your username is an absolute beauty

 

[Some Other Flame]

Ovechking breaking the record before he turns 40 would be incredible

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Somewhere, someone was talking about durability. Here's how Ovechkin ranks (as of today - November 10th, 2024) among players during their first 20 seasons (games played divided by games on the schedule):

Players	Games	Max	Percentage
Larry Murphy	1,558	1,586	98.2%​
Patrick Marleau	1,575	1,606	98.1%​
Nicklas Lidstrom	1,564	1,608	97.3%​
Jaroma Iginla	1,554	1,606	96.8%​
Alex Ovechkin	1,440	1,499	96.1%​
Scott Stevens	1,516	1,590	95.3%​
Wayne Gretzky	1,487	1,584	93.9%​
Ron Francis	1,489	1,588	93.8%​
Jaromir Jagr	1,473	1,572	93.7%​
Brendan Shanahan	1,490	1,600	93.1%​
Mark Recchi	1,490	1,602	93.0%​
Joe Thornton	1,493	1,606	93.0%​
Doug Gilmour	1,474	1,592	92.6%​
Rod Brind'Amour	1,484	1,604	92.5%​
Stan Mikita	1,376	1,498	91.9%​
Ray Bourque	1,453	1,584	91.7%​
Shane Doan	1,466	1,606	91.3%​
Glen Wesley	1,457	1,600	91.1%​
Mike Modano	1,459	1,604	91.0%​
Dave Andreycchuk	1,443	1,590	90.8%​

It's an interesting mix. You have some power forwards (Ovechkin, Iginla, Shanahan, Doan, half of Mikita's career). Forwards who aren't huge hitters, but are good two-way players (Gilmour, Francis, Modano). Excellent two-way defensemen (Bourque, Lidstrom, Stevens). A few forwards who are big and strong, but not aggressive (Jagr, Thornton). There's only one player who I'd say is relatively soft (Marleau).

Note - I haven't filtered out "false starts". So Chris Chelios's 12 games in 1985 counts against him. I don't have any way to calculate this though.

(EDIT - I just realized the database I pulled this from only starts in 1960, and stops at 2020 - except for Ovechkin, who I calculated manually since we're mid-season. So there are a few players missing - Gordie Howe being the most obvious. I just calculated he's at 97.0%, which would rank him 4th here. In any event, this table covers six decades, and presumably highlights just how rare Ovechkin's durability has been).

 

[authentic]

Somewhere, someone was talking about durability. Here's how Ovechkin ranks (as of today - November 10th, 2024) among players during their first 20 seasons (games played divided by games on the schedule):

Players	Games	Max	Percentage
Larry Murphy	1,558	1,586	98.2%​
Patrick Marleau	1,575	1,606	98.1%​
Nicklas Lidstrom	1,564	1,608	97.3%​
Jaroma Iginla	1,554	1,606	96.8%​
Alex Ovechkin	1,440	1,499	96.1%​
Scott Stevens	1,516	1,590	95.3%​
Wayne Gretzky	1,487	1,584	93.9%​
Ron Francis	1,489	1,588	93.8%​
Jaromir Jagr	1,473	1,572	93.7%​
Brendan Shanahan	1,490	1,600	93.1%​
Mark Recchi	1,490	1,602	93.0%​
Joe Thornton	1,493	1,606	93.0%​
Doug Gilmour	1,474	1,592	92.6%​
Rod Brind'Amour	1,484	1,604	92.5%​
Stan Mikita	1,376	1,498	91.9%​
Ray Bourque	1,453	1,584	91.7%​
Shane Doan	1,466	1,606	91.3%​
Glen Wesley	1,457	1,600	91.1%​
Mike Modano	1,459	1,604	91.0%​
Dave Andreycchuk	1,443	1,590	90.8%​

It's an interesting mix. You have some power forwards (Ovechkin, Iginla, Shanahan, Doan, half of Mikita's career). Forwards who aren't huge hitters, but are good two-way players (Gilmour, Francis, Modano). Excellent two-way defensemen (Bourque, Lidstrom, Stevens). A few forwards who are big and strong, but not aggressive (Jagr, Thornton). There's only one player who I'd say is relatively soft (Marleau).

Note - I haven't filtered out "false starts". So Chris Chelios's 12 games in 1985 counts against him. I don't have any way to calculate this though.

Fancy seeing Iginla and Steven’s there. Two other physical beasts you forget had great durability their entire careers.

 

[BallardEra]

I also wonder if those games on that list also include the ones that Ovechkin missed to suspensions.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

I also wonder if those games on that list also include the ones that Ovechkin missed to suspensions.

It's just a calculation of games played divided by games on the schedule, regardless of if he missed them due to injury or suspension. (I think he also missed some games due to the death of his father and/or grandfather).

I don't have the time to calculate this, but it wouldn't surprise me if Ovechkin has the fewest number of games missed to injury, through 20 years, of any player in NHL history.

 

[AD1066]

It's just a calculation of games played divided by games on the schedule, regardless of if he missed them due to injury or suspension. (I think he also missed some games due to the death of his father and/or grandfather).

I don't have the time to calculate this, but it wouldn't surprise me if Ovechkin has the fewest number of games missed to injury, through 20 years, of any player in NHL history.

Found this breakdown below. Using 35 instead of 59 games, the 96.1% increases to 97.7% and puts him between Lidstrom and Marleau.

• 35 games to injury (6 of which were due to a scrap with Columbus’s Jason Chimera in 2009)
• 7 games for on-ice disciplinary reasons (3 suspensions total)
• 6 games for family/personal reasons.
• 6 games due to COVID protocol (including 2 in 2022)
• 3 games suspended for skipping the All-Star game
• 1 game for oversleeping – punished by the team
• 1 game because the regulars sat for a meaningless Game 82
• Aside from these regular season games, he has missed five All-Star games: 2012 (suspended), 2016 (injured), 2019 (rested), 2020 (rested), and 2022 (COVID).
• He hasn’t missed any playoff games

Games Alex Ovechkin Has Missed - Capitals Outsider

Updated: 1/16/2024 Alex Ovechkin has missed only 59 games in his career. The Caps are 26-29-4 in those games. Interesting info about the games he missed:

capitalsoutsider.com

 

[BallardEra]

Ovechkin, Capitals give kids ‘best day ever’ at Hockey Fights Cancer skate | NHL.com

Star forward, teammates hit ice with children from Make-A-Wish, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Horizon Day Camp

www.nhl.com

 

[WarriorofTime]

It's just a calculation of games played divided by games on the schedule, regardless of if he missed them due to injury or suspension. (I think he also missed some games due to the death of his father and/or grandfather).

I don't have the time to calculate this, but it wouldn't surprise me if Ovechkin has the fewest number of games missed to injury, through 20 years, of any player in NHL history.

once you factor in the 'false starts' you get a lot more Keith Yandle types

 

[Nogatco Rd]

You would think someone whose username is a famous mathematical constant would have a better idea of how to back up a hypotheses with fact, or at least create a decent argument aside from "this one time about 16 years ago a coach implied he was something less than good without the puck therefore my statements about his entire career are right."


Hey look, just last week Ovechkin really gave a ton of effort on a back check, therefore he's never been a floater or lazy in his career, because one example means that, right?

https://x.com/i/web/status/1852853806897287367

On a scale of 1-10 that guys posts are a 3.14

 

[Nogatco Rd]

I also wonder if those games on that list also include the ones that Ovechkin missed to suspensions.

Yeah the table includes suspensions. noticed the other day that Ovi Matthews and McDavid have all missed exactly 59 games.. obviously there’s a big disparity in total GP for each.

 

[pezpunk]

Several of Ovi's suspensions were total BS. He also missed a bunch for family reasons, or because he skips the all star game some years.

To keep him out of the lineup for injury .. he basically has to be unable to stand.

 

[pezpunk]

this is what Ovi's leg looked like in the 2017 playoffs.

He has never missed a playoff game. Not even after this hit.



For the record, i think that hit is pretty clean -- Kadri puts his whole ass into it, it's not like he stuck out his leg. But to pinwheel Ovi's 250 pounds or whatever head over heels with the thigh as the fulcrum point, dang, that would have broken most people in half.

Ovechkin returned later that game.

 

[FrozenJagrt]

So you're telling me Russian machine never breaks?

 

[stephenball]

Every goal Ovechkin has scored this year has been assisted by Dylan Strome. Ovechkin looks great this year, he’s skating well and putting himself in good position to score, which is important for a player his age. But it is the first time since Backstrom has been gone that Ovechkin is playing with an elite center (at least so far this season Strome has been elite)

 

[Peeri]

Every goal Ovechkin has scored this year has been assisted by Dylan Strome. Ovechkin looks great this year, he’s skating well and putting himself in good position to score, which is important for a player his age. But it is the first time since Backstrom has been gone that Ovechkin is playing with an elite center (at least so far this season Strome has been elite)

Kuznetsov was elite at times, just like Strome has been so far.

 

[DRW895]

this is what Ovi's leg looked like in the 2017 playoffs.

View attachment 929490

He has never missed a playoff game. Not even after this hit.



For the record, i think that hit is pretty clean -- Kadri puts his whole ass into it, it's not like he stuck out his leg. But to pinwheel Ovi's 250 pounds or whatever head over heels with the thigh as the fulcrum point, dang, that would have broken most people in half.

Ovechkin returned later that game.

it`s a shame that kadri wasn`t banned. Later he was consecutivaly punished in next several postseasons

 

[stephenball]

Kuznetsov was elite at times, just like Strome has been so far.

True, he had flashes, but they got less and less common. It feels better at the moment with Strome because he’s been on a fully upward trajectory since he’s joined the team.

 

[Toby91ca]

Somewhere, someone was talking about durability. Here's how Ovechkin ranks (as of today - November 10th, 2024) among players during their first 20 seasons (games played divided by games on the schedule):

Players	Games	Max	Percentage
Larry Murphy	1,558	1,586	98.2%​
Patrick Marleau	1,575	1,606	98.1%​
Nicklas Lidstrom	1,564	1,608	97.3%​
Jaroma Iginla	1,554	1,606	96.8%​
Alex Ovechkin	1,440	1,499	96.1%​
Scott Stevens	1,516	1,590	95.3%​
Wayne Gretzky	1,487	1,584	93.9%​
Ron Francis	1,489	1,588	93.8%​
Jaromir Jagr	1,473	1,572	93.7%​
Brendan Shanahan	1,490	1,600	93.1%​
Mark Recchi	1,490	1,602	93.0%​
Joe Thornton	1,493	1,606	93.0%​
Doug Gilmour	1,474	1,592	92.6%​
Rod Brind'Amour	1,484	1,604	92.5%​
Stan Mikita	1,376	1,498	91.9%​
Ray Bourque	1,453	1,584	91.7%​
Shane Doan	1,466	1,606	91.3%​
Glen Wesley	1,457	1,600	91.1%​
Mike Modano	1,459	1,604	91.0%​
Dave Andreycchuk	1,443	1,590	90.8%​

It's an interesting mix. You have some power forwards (Ovechkin, Iginla, Shanahan, Doan, half of Mikita's career). Forwards who aren't huge hitters, but are good two-way players (Gilmour, Francis, Modano). Excellent two-way defensemen (Bourque, Lidstrom, Stevens). A few forwards who are big and strong, but not aggressive (Jagr, Thornton). There's only one player who I'd say is relatively soft (Marleau).

Note - I haven't filtered out "false starts". So Chris Chelios's 12 games in 1985 counts against him. I don't have any way to calculate this though.

(EDIT - I just realized the database I pulled this from only starts in 1960, and stops at 2020 - except for Ovechkin, who I calculated manually since we're mid-season. So there are a few players missing - Gordie Howe being the most obvious. I just calculated he's at 97.0%, which would rank him 4th here. In any event, this table covers six decades, and presumably highlights just how rare Ovechkin's durability has been).

There is no doubt, he's been one of the best in terms of availability during his career, I don't doubt that and his numbers here look accurate (I checked)....but not sure about the accuracy or completeness of the rest of the table....for example....where is Kessel? I think his career would be at 97.3%. Also, I'm pretty sure Jarvis is 100%, he played in 964 games in his career and they were all consecutive. Where is Yandle? He's around 95.2% and what about Larmer....he's over 98%

 

[Guadana]

Every goal Ovechkin has scored this year has been assisted by Dylan Strome. Ovechkin looks great this year, he’s skating well and putting himself in good position to score, which is important for a player his age. But it is the first time since Backstrom has been gone that Ovechkin is playing with an elite center (at least so far this season Strome has been elite)

Every goal he is scoring with Strome goal is because Strome is his center and both play well and together regularly. With lack of PP scoring. There are no other options. Strome is very good but its Ovechkin who will brake Gretzky record, its not Strome who was walking bust before playing on the line with Ovie. Of course Strome is better than corpses of Kuzi and whatever he played with.

 

[pezpunk]

True, he had flashes, but they got less and less common. It feels better at the moment with Strome because he’s been on a fully upward trajectory since he’s joined the team.

I like Kuzy, he is forever Caps royalty for his 2018 playoffs performance and for eliminating the Penguins in OT that year. But he was an absolute boat anchor for his final 2 years on the team.

 

[DieSendungmitderMaus]

Always thought it'd be cool of he scored #895 with a trademark PP slapper, but maybe now I'll root for him doing it via his first ever wraparound

 

[Randyne]

Every goal Ovechkin has scored this year has been assisted by Dylan Strome.

He is already #9 Ovechkin's assistant:

#	player	A1	A2	A		#	player	A1	A2	A
1​	Nicklas Bäckström	136​	143​	279​		61​	Nic Dowd	3​	1​	4​
2​	John Carlson	100​	52​	152​		62​	Nick Jensen	0​	4​	4​
3​	Evgeny Kuznetsov	68​	42​	110​		63​	Connor McMichael	2​	1​	3​
4​	Mike Green	48​	22​	70​		64​	Eric Fehr	1​	2​	3​
5​	Marcus Johansson	31​	27​	58​		65​	Garnet Hathaway	2​	1​	3​
6​	T.J. Oshie	21​	27​	48​		66​	John Erskine	1​	2​	3​
7​	Tom Wilson	25​	22​	47​		67​	Justin Schultz	2​	1​	3​
8​	Alexander Semin	32​	13​	45​		68​	Mathieu Biron	1​	2​	3​
9​	Dylan Strome	23​	13​	36​		69​	Richard Zedník	2​	1​	3​
10​	Dmitry Orlov	21​	14​	35​		70​	Sonny Milano	1​	2​	3​
11​	Brooks Laich	17​	9​	26​		71​	Steven Oleksy	2​	1​	3​
12​	Dainius Zubrus	17​	9​	26​		72​	Travis Boyd	1​	2​	3​
13​	Viktor Kozlov	14​	7​	21​		73​	Tyler Sloan	1​	2​	3​
14​	Karl Alzner	12​	8​	20​		74​	Alexandre Giroux	1​	1​	2​
15​	Jeff Schultz	8​	11​	19​		75​	Beck Malenstyn	2​	0​	2​
16​	Matt Niskanen	11​	7​	18​		76​	Daniel Sprong	2​	0​	2​
17​	Tom Poti	10​	7​	17​		77​	David Steckel	2​	0​	2​
18​	Chris Clark	12​	4​	16​		78​	Ilya Kovalchuk	1​	1​	2​
19​	Troy Brouwer	7​	8​	15​		79​	Jack Hillen	1​	1​	2​
20​	Mike Knuble	7​	7​	14​		80​	Jay Beagle	2​	0​	2​
21​	Michael Nylander	8​	5​	13​		81​	Jonas Siegenthaler	2​	0​	2​
22​	Mike Ribeiro	7​	6​	13​		82​	Keith Aucoin	1​	1​	2​
23​	Conor Sheary	7​	4​	11​		83​	Kevin Shattenkirk	2​	0​	2​
24​	Jason Chimera	5​	6​	11​		84​	Radko Gudas	0​	2​	2​
25​	Shaone Morrisonn	5​	6​	11​		85​	Hendrix Lapierre	0​	2​	2​
26​	Brian Pothier	5​	5​	10​		86​	Madison Bowey	0​	2​	2​
27​	Jakub Vrána	3​	7​	10​		87​	Martin Erat	0​	2​	2​
28​	Jamie Heward	4​	6​	10​		88​	Martin Fehérváry	0​	2​	2​
29​	Milan Jurčina	3​	7​	10​		89​	Zdeno Chára	0​	2​	2​
30​	Bryan Muir	8​	1​	9​		90​	Alex Chiasson	1​	0​	1​
31​	Dennis Wideman	3​	6​	9​		91​	Brendan Witt	1​	0​	1​
32​	Aliaksei Protas	4​	4​	8​		92​	Brenden Dillon	1​	0​	1​
33​	Anthony Mantha	3​	5​	8​		93​	Bryan Helmer	1​	0​	1​
34​	Joel Ward	3​	5​	8​		94​	Devante Smith-Pelly	1​	0​	1​
35​	Lars Eller	4​	4​	8​		95​	Dylan McIlrath	1​	0​	1​
36​	Sergei Fedorov	3​	5​	8​		96​	Jason Arnott	1​	0​	1​
37​	Steve Eminger	4​	4​	8​		97​	Joe Motzko	1​	0​	1​
38​	Brian Willsie	5​	2​	7​		98​	Lawrence Nycholat	1​	0​	1​
39​	Brooks Orpik	6​	1​	7​		99​	Mathieu Perreault	1​	0​	1​
40​	Jeff Halpern	4​	3​	7​		100​	Matt Hendricks	1​	0​	1​
41​	Tomáš Fleischmann	3​	4​	7​		101​	Max Pacioretty	1​	0​	1​
42​	Trevor van Riemsdyk	5​	2​	7​		102​	Michal Neuvirth	1​	0​	1​
43​	André Burakovsky	3​	3​	6​		103​	Sami Lepistö	1​	0​	1​
44​	Ben Clymer	2​	4​	6​		104​	Tomáš Vokoun	1​	0​	1​
45​	Erik Gustafsson	5​	1​	6​		105​	Vincent Iorio	1​	0​	1​
46​	Mikhail Grabovski	4​	2​	6​		106​	Nolan Yonkman	0​	1​	1​
47​	Rasmus Sandin	4​	2​	6​		107​	Alexander Alexeyev	0​	1​	1​
48​	Brett Connolly	1​	4​	5​		108​	Braden Holtby	0​	1​	1​
49​	Brian Sutherby	3​	2​	5​		109​	Donald Brashear	0​	1​	1​
50​	Christian Djoos	5​	0​	5​		110​	Gabriel Carlsson	0​	1​	1​
51​	Jiří Novotný	3​	2​	5​		111​	Ivan Majeský	0​	1​	1​
52​	Justin Williams	2​	3​	5​		112​	Ivan Miroshnichenko	0​	1​	1​
53​	Matt Bradley	3​	2​	5​		113​	José Théodore	0​	1​	1​
54​	Matt Pettinger	1​	4​	5​		114​	Marco Sturm	0​	1​	1​
55​	Michal Kempný	2​	3​	5​		115​	Mathieu Perreault	0​	1​	1​
56​	Olaf Kölzig	0​	5​	5​		116​	Rico Fata	0​	1​	1​
57​	Andrew Cassels	3​	1​	4​		117​	Scott Hannan	0​	1​	1​
58​	Boyd Gordon	2​	2​	4​		118​	Taylor Chorney	0​	1​	1​
59​	Brendan Morrison	2​	2​	4​			total	820​	645​	1465​
60​	Nate Schmidt	2​	2​	4​			unassisted	43​