Will Ovechkin hit 20 goals this season?

[hockeykicker]

x2

 

[ucanthanzalthetruth]

2 more tonight. On pace for 25.

 

[george14]

Ovi hanging out at center ice to get an EN goal. I actually LOL’d at that.

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

Lol 2 tonight. OP what a foolish prediction

 

[Zap Rowsdower]

His whole game is sacrificing team play to score goals, he'll definitely hit at least 30. That's all he cares about

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

I don't know if Ovi can score 16 goals in 69 games... LOL

 

[Woodrow]

He's going to break the record by hanging out at centre ice and potting empty netters.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Ovi hanging out at center ice to get an EN goal. I actually LOL’d at that.

He blocked some shots and made some good defensive plays in the previous shifts, well earned

 

[Zap Rowsdower]

Two goals tonight, the only question is if they were empty net or PP

 

[stephenball]

Ovi hanging out at center ice to get an EN goal. I actually LOL’d at that.

To be fair earlier in the sequence he won a footrace to hold the puck in the Islanders zone and he isn’t exactly a spring chicken. He was slow to get back but it isn’t like he was just standing at the blue line while his team struggled in their zone short handed.

 

[PlushMinus]

He's going to break the record by hanging out at centre ice and potting empty netters.

Yeah hurrr durrr.....like the one he scored in the 1st...durr

 

[AhosDatsyukian]

He's going to break the record by hanging out at centre ice and potting empty netters.

I mean, he opened scoring tonight with a pretty sweet goal. Of course he’ll get some empty netters in convincing Ws like tonight but he’ll also get a ton of legit goals. Was silly to put more stock in his slow start in a tiny sample size compared to the rest of his career and recent years. Dude is the best goal scorer ever and yet people still count him out for some reason. Lol

 

[Dr John Carlson]

What's crazy to me is that 30 years from now, when Ovechkin's sitting comfortable #1 all-time at like 900 goals, nobody is going to look back and complain about the empty netters. Unfortunate scene for the haters.

 

[Beau Knows]

30-35 seems a lot more likely...

Not even sure if 40 is off the table.

 

[thegoldenyear]

Jesus, it’s going to be cheesy as heck if the typical profile for every four goals he gets is shovel pass into the open cage-ENG abetted by a bad forecheck-legit wrister-ENG with three seconds left off a lazy poach.

I honestly don’t know whether he’ll get there. But I’m sure he doesn’t care how any of us feel, good, bad or indifferent.

Won’t be on a Selanne-style rookie-record breakaway, though, I think he and us can all agree on that.

 

[BallardEra]

Hes also 36 on an aging team.

He’s 38.

 

[Caps8112]

Jesus, it’s going to be cheesy as heck if the typical profile for every four goals he gets is shovel pass into the open cage-ENG abetted by a bad forecheck-legit wrister-ENG with three seconds left off a lazy poach.

I honestly don’t know whether he’ll get there. But I’m sure he doesn’t care how any of us feel, good, bad or indifferent.

Won’t be on a Selanne-style rookie-record breakaway, though, I think he and us can all agree on that.

Maybe it’s an eye opener to how great of an accomplishment it would be. Gretzky respectfully scored most of his goals on goalies who stayed up, in the 80s where games were regularly 7-6. Ovi being consistent for nearly 20 years is remarkable and at the moment it looks like he will Barely get there. That’s how impressive both the record is and that ovi might get there

 

[SkinsFan09]

Recently? This has been his game for years.

Nothing motivates Ovi more than goals. Not winning, not the playoffs, nothing.

He is going to get his goals. He will go on a tear and score in bunches.

Ovechkin since 2015-16 has even strength goal finishes of 1,2,3,1,5.

Last two seasons, Capitals with Ovechkin -.549 win

Without: .143

Seems like his play impacts winning for that franchise.

 

[HTFN]

Recently? This has been his game for years.

Nothing motivates Ovi more than goals. Not winning, not the playoffs, nothing.

He is going to get his goals. He will go on a tear and score in bunches.

What red hot absolute bullshit

 

[HTFN]

The Capitals simply aren't going to do they aren't trying to develop players (and most teams in the NHL don't because they play to win) but that's the rub the caps are playing for the record a little too much here.

Put another way if Ovi was say 150 goals behind his retirement would probably happen earlier but the focus is what it is and overall when he gets close it will be a great hype machine for hockey and get the NHL mass media coverage perhaps but as a hokey fan I sure hope it doesn't get more embarrassing than what it looks like will happen given last season and the start of this one.

Also with 5 minutes left and with a 3-1 lead when the Isles pull their goalie they will be pushing Ovi out there for that goal.

Seriously, when is anybody going to offer anything close to proof that they only want Ov goals?

I can point out a lot of moves that might indicate they want to keep playing hockey, I don’t see how signing a goalie like Kuemper instead of spending on a forward is about Ovechkin goals.

This is an all feelings argument, a last ditch excuse you guys are trying to seed to devalue the chase.

What should they do different that would make them a better hockey team? They’re 7-4-2, third in the division, ahead of the Devils and Penguins right now (I assume we’re saying these teams want to win…) and 6-2-2 in their last ten.

Give me one thing, anything, that means Ovechkin goals but isn’t helping them win. Feels like you’d want to see him scratched before you admit they might be playing hockey.

 

[BalButtercluck]

He will hit 20 goals.

How many more times does he play the Islanders? 2 or 3?

Thats like 5 goals right there.

 

[Caps8112]

The Capitals simply aren't going to do they aren't trying to develop players (and most teams in the NHL don't because they play to win) but that's the rub the caps are playing for the record a little too much here.

Put another way if Ovi was say 150 goals behind his retirement would probably happen earlier but the focus is what it is and overall when he gets close it will be a great hype machine for hockey and get the NHL mass media coverage perhaps but as a hokey fan I sure hope it doesn't get more embarrassing than what it looks like will happen given last season and the start of this one.

Also with 5 minutes left and with a 3-1 lead when the Isles pull their goalie they will be pushing Ovi out there for that goal.

What could they do differently that the penguins aren’t also doing. The pens actually made it worse trading for karlsson with 3 old war horses on the wrong side of things. The truth is both teams having old stars and mediocre draft picks from 20 years of being near the top. The real rebuild for either doesn’t start until these guys all retire. Caps are playing all their kids now. Haven’t followed to know if the pens are. What more could they do right now to “look like” they are doing hockey business as usual?

 

[kugelbahn]

"The dog barks but the elephant moves on"
J. L. KIPLING

 

[BallardEra]

He has 11 points in 13 games which leads the team.

The whole team has issues scoring this season.

 

[wetcoast]

What could they do differently that the penguins aren’t also doing. The pens actually made it worse trading for karlsson with 3 old war horses on the wrong side of things. The truth is both teams having old stars and mediocre draft picks from 20 years of being near the top. The real rebuild for either doesn’t start until these guys all retire. Caps are playing all their kids now. Haven’t followed to know if the pens are. What more could they do right now to “look like” they are doing hockey business as usual?

I personally don't agree with what the Pens are doing will lead them to the SC but what does that have to do with what I said?

The production or rather lack of it on the PP by Ovi is just horrible this year so far and it wasn't great last year either.

I get that the Capitals are all in on the record as the owner has stated as such and the TOI and deployment both in offensive zone starts and PP TOI is ridiculously low for the actual production being delivered.

I GET why they are doing it but right now 13 games in he has 4 goals which include 2 ENG, 1 on the PP and one at ES while playing in over 65 minutes on the PP so far and 72% offensive zone starts at ES.

the numbers aren't really lying here.