Ovechkin hopes for the best year for his team

UNIONDALE, NY - JANUARY 26: Alex Ovechkin warms up before playing the New York Islanders on January 26, 2010 at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

I think Ovechkin's 10 shots on goal are the highest for him this season. yet he didn't even get a point in this game. But the Caps win again, 7th in a row and that's all that matters!

Update from Tarik: "We got seven goals and [Alex Ovechkin] and [Mike Green] didn't get a point," Coach Bruce Boudreau said. "It says you've good balance in your team." Weird to see the Caps get seven goals and Ovechkin finish with 10 shots but no points. I though No. 8 was flying tonight, beginning with that shot he took while sliding on his knees a minute into the game. He also had a nice break-in later, but was stopped.


Ovechkin's stats:
Total ice time 20:51, average shift 01:13, 10(!) shots on goal, 4 attempts blocked (hope Jack Hillen will get well soon)


UNIONDALE, NY - JANUARY 26: Alex Ovechkin skates against Matt Moulson, #26, the New York Islanders on January 26, 2010 at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) Capitals win 7:2
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By Adam Gretz, NHL fan house, Jan 26, 2010:

It's not a surprise to see Alex Ovechkin's name at the top of the NHL's scoring list (entering play on Tuesday, he trails Henrik Sedin by six points for the league lead) given that he's finished in the top three in three of his first four seasons in the NHL. It could be a surprise, however, to see him up there this season, when he's played in 10 fewer games than the other top scorers in the league.

Can a player who has already won two MVP awards and a scoring title still have a breakout season? Well, no, not really, but if it were possible, it would be what Ovechkin is doing right now. Earlier in the year there was a legitimate discussion as to whether or not he could score 50 goals in 50 games, as well as the possibility of him hitting the 70-goal plateau. Thanks to an injury and a two-game suspension, neither of those milestones will be hit this year, but that doesn't mean he still isn't having (statistically) the best season of his career, and by a pretty wide margin.

"The thing about Alex is, he perseveres," said Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau. "In every game, the best defensive players are playing against him. Every team talks before the game about how they're going to try to stop him. Yet he still does what he does. There are a lot of great players in the league, but I don't think anyone is the complete package like Alex."

Currently, Ovechkin is lapping the field with an 1.63 points-per-game average, a number that nobody else in the league is even remotely close to at this point. He's been at the top of the league in points-per-game the past two seasons, but the gap between him and the rest of the league has always been minimal (last year he led Evgeni Malkin by .01 points, and led Sidney Crosby by the same margin the year before). Here's how the gap looks as of right now:

Alex Ovechkin: 1.63
Henrik Sedin: 1.46
Daniel Sedin: 1.41
Joe Thornton: 1.26
Sidney Crosby: 1.26

His averages in previous years have been 1.31, 1.12, 1.37, and 1.39.

If Ovechkin can maintain this pace for the rest of the season, it would be the best per-game average the NHL has seen since Mario Lemieux averaged 1.76 points during the 2000-01 season. Before that, you have to go all the way back to 1995 to find a point-per-game average on the same level as what we're seeing from Ovechkin this season. The scary thing is he's still a couple of years away from when most players hit their estimated point-per-game peak.

"I hope when this season is over it is not looked at as my best personal year, but as the best year for our team," said Ovechkin before the Capitals' game against the Islanders. "We want to win the Stanley Cup."

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