Alex Ovechkin did what only two other players have done before, score 800 goals. He hit it in style with a hat trick against the Chicago Blackhawks on ESPN. Anytime you join Gordie Howe and Wayne Gretzky, you know it's special. Ovechkin is always a great interview, and even though he said all the right things to make it about the team, you could tell how much it meant to him.
Ovechkin will tie Howe with his next goal. On his current pace, he'll end up with 50 goals and be only 64 away from Gretzky. This means he only needs to play two more seasons, and he should easily hit it. If you throw in Gretzky's WHA goals, his total is 940. Goals that should count since the four teams played in the NHL the following season. Howe's combined total is 975, so he actually scored more than Gretzky. Ovechkin would need to play three more seasons to break Gretzky's combined goals and four for Howe's. It's not like he couldn't, but it would be harder.
Things I like
- As usual, the Phoenix Coyotes aren't very good, but they are better at home, where they've only played eight games, the fewest by far because ASU gets first dibs on the arena. It's sad when an NHL team plays second fiddle to a college team. But they are 4-3-1 there. They beat the Boston Bruins, and now they came back from a 2-0 deficit to beat the New York Islanders. Not the largest comeback, but still impressive. If you're wondering, they are selling out all 4,6000 seats. One would hope. Otherwise, that would be embarrassing.
Things I don't
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The NHL's salary cap is moving up less than anticipated next season, so they're going to tack on two extra games to make it an 84-game schedule. This will also allow them to play every division opponent four times instead of a few three times. All I can say is, how about fewer games? I didn't mind the 56-game-shortened COVID season. If it was up to me, I'd say a 64-game season starting in December. Fewer games make them more meaningful, and I don't really start watching until after the NFL is over. But it's not up to me, and they'll never play fewer games because that means less money. So it looks like the season is expanding.
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A couple of weeks ago, I said the Eastern Conference playoff teams were pretty much set. We just needed the Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers to get in. Now they have, and now it's over. In fact, the top eastern teams have all been separating from the pack. Six of the eight playoff teams have won at least seven of their last ten games, and four had active winning streaks of four or more. But the Penguins played the Carolina Hurricanes, so one had to be snapped, and it was the Penguins' streak. That's not to say the Washington Capitals, Florida Panthers, or Buffalo Sabres don't have a chance to make it. But I wouldn't hold my breath. The Rangers and Penguins have really found a groove recently.
Fights of the Week
Special thanks to hockeyfights.com for making this section a little easier to do.
Dennis Gilbert vs Jonah Gadjovich
A great back and forth, and then Gadjovich levels Gilbert.
Connor Mackey vs Michael Pezzetta
A really fun fight where a lot connected.
Nicolas Deslauriers vs Michael McLeod
A really long one, mostly dominated by Deslauriers.
Tanner Jeannot vs Adam Lowry
A good back-and-forth.
Goat of the Week
Evan Bouchard - Edmonton Oilers
Bouchard wasn't looking because there was no other excuse for this. Ryan Strome takes it the other way for the easy breakaway goal. The Oilers lost by one despite outshooting the Ducks 49-17.
Stat Line of the Week
12/14/22 Ottawa 3 vs.Montreal 2
| Skater | TOI | G | A | +/- | SOG | PPA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. DeBrincat | 19:12 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
Alex DeBrincat and the Ottawa Senators are having a disappointing season. The Senators are young with many new faces, so how they finish the season is more important. As for DeBrincat, he's scoring as actually up, but he's traded goals for assists. Consequently, he's on pace for his lowest goal total (besides 2019-20) and highest assist total. But he figured into all the Senators' goals against the Canadiens with helpers and followed it up with another three-assist night against the Detroit Red Wings. He did have three goals in the previous two goals, though and recently snapped his eight-game point streak.
Numbers, Numbers
101 – Career NHL wins for Jordan Binnington, his 100th was a shutout
7 – Seconds between goals for the New York Rangers as they snapped the New Jersey Devils road winning streak
23 – Game point streak for Mitchell Marner snapped
35 – Seconds left when Evgeni Malkin scored the game-winner over the Dallas Stars
11 – Games that featured two teams under 25 shots in a 1-0 overtime game since 1983 after the Blues beat the Predators
2 – Home shootout losses for the Bruins, their only home losses
Rankings
The rankings are based on how the teams are currently playing.
Top 5
- Pittsburgh
- Carolina
- Boston
- Tampa Bay
- Minnesota
Bottom 5
- Chicago
- Detroit
- Columbus
- Montreal
- Nashville
World Cup Thoughts
I knew France would win after the first knockout game during the last World Cup. This year it took until after the quarterfinal games when four teams remained. Then I figured Argentina would beat France. It's lame to pick a winner when only four teams are left, but there wasn't much to go on. No team went undefeated in the group stage, and some Pot 1 teams would win by a lot and then draw or lose to an average team. There was no flow. Argentina finally winning COPA made me think they would do it here. I woke up at halftime to watch and then turned off 20 minutes later because France literally couldn't do anything. I found it uncompelling. It's a good thing I turned it on 15 minutes later after France had tied it, to my surprise. I watched the two Kylian Mbappé goals and then was hooked for the rest of one of the best games ever that sadly ended in penalty kicks.
Penalty kicks are such a stupid way to end a great game. I could watch them play for another hour. Argentina is way better at penalties, so it took out the suspense. Additionally, I wanted to watch soccer (futbol), not a skills competition. Imagine a Stanley Cup Finals game ending in a shootout. Ironically, Mbappé won the golden boot as a runner-up the same way Lionel Messi won it eight years ago.
I'm happy for Messi. In the games I watched, he never did much, but he did in COPA 21 and in this World Cup. Odd, considering he won the golden boot in 2018, but if I recall, he didn't do anything against Germany in that final.
I really wish they'd get rid of penalty kicks to end a game. I also hate off-sides. I know football purists would kill me.