Alexander Ovechkin had a hat trick this afternoon and now has 882 goals, just 12 behind Wayne Gretzky's all time best of 894.
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Ovechkin nets 3, now 13 goals shy of NHL record
Alex Ovechkin scored his 880th, 881st and 882nd career goals to move 13 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL record and give the Washington Capitals a 7-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.
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Ok here's my annual NHL post because I know almost nothing about it, but obviously have heard of Ovechkin and Gretzky. I also love stats.
I haven't looked at NHL's all-time goals, assists or points leaders in a long time, because I did know that Gretzky held all three records. I thought for a long time these records would never be broken. However, it looks like Ovechkin will break Gretzky's goal record.
If you'll excuse my ignorance, could someone tell me how Ovechkin has managed to reach this record? He's obviously a great player, but what I mean is; did he have an advantage in position, left wing vs. Gretzky's Center position? Was Ovechkin, 714 assists, able to concentrate more on scoring or did he do it on purpose wanting to break the record while not having nearly as many assists as Gretzky, 1963 had. Gretzky has 1200 more points than Ovechkin because of the amount of assists Gretzky has! Could Gretzky have scored more goals had he wanted to? Would Ovechkin not have this many goals if he wanted to give out more assists? Was Gretzky just that good that he did both better than anyone ever?
I liken it to MLB. I read alot about Ty Cobb. He once said to a reporter he could hit more homeruns if he wanted to, but didn't, because he loved running the bases and trying to steal. He said this just before a game later in his career in 1925 at 38 years old. He said,"I'll show you something. I'm going to try and hit homeruns for the first time in my career." He hit 5 homeruns in 2 consecutive games, something Babe Ruth hadn't done to that point. That's just one the reasons I believe Cobb was as good if not better than Ruth.
Any way just wondering. I hope what I'm asking makes sense.
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Gretzky was the unsurpassed genius at seeing the ice, anticipating and setting up plays in a very frenetic, fast-moving sport. He was 6'0" 180 but seemed even slighter. Mario Lemieux had similar traits to Gretzky but was also physically imposing at 6'4". If not for chronic back problems and a bout with cancer, Mario may well have passed Gretzky's career marks or at least come close to them.
Ovechkin is an ox on skates, 6'3" and 240 pounds and who could skate very fast for his size when he was young and loved to hit opponents as hard as he could. He had an all-around game when he was younger but was always predominantly a goal scorer rather than a playmaker. He's always scored a lot of goals on the power play, and even more so as he's gotten older. He parks himself in the circle during man advantages, waiting for an opportunity to be set up for his blistering shot to beat the goalie before he can move over in time. That's the main reason he's kept on scoring goals at the rate he does.
Ovechkin is the best combination of brute strength and scoring ability ever to play in the NHL but he isn't an elite playmaker and has never had much interest in playing defense other than smashing into opponents.
Ovechkin is an ox on skates, 6'3" and 240 pounds and who could skate very fast for his size when he was young and loved to hit opponents as hard as he could. He had an all-around game when he was younger but was always predominantly a goal scorer rather than a playmaker. He's always scored a lot of goals on the power play, and even more so as he's gotten older. He parks himself in the circle during man advantages, waiting for an opportunity to be set up for his blistering shot to beat the goalie before he can move over in time. That's the main reason he's kept on scoring goals at the rate he does.
Ovechkin is the best combination of brute strength and scoring ability ever to play in the NHL but he isn't an elite playmaker and has never had much interest in playing defense other than smashing into opponents.
