by Amber Searls-Imagn images
If Alex Ovechkin resumes where he had stopped when Washington’s capitals return to work next week, he will be on the right track to beat the NHL’s goals of Wayne Gretzky before the end of this season.
Whenever he marks his 895th NHL career objective, it will be a historic evening, probably filled with fanfare.
When Gretzky exceeded Gordie Howe with his 802nd goal during a second -time power game in Los Angeles on March 23, 1994, the Kings match against Vancouver Canucks was immediately interrupted for a 15 -minute ice ceremony. Among the parents of Gretzky, his wife Janet, the owner of Kings, Bruce Mcall, and the commissioner Gary Bettman – then in his second year of work.
After having fought a little when he returned to the action of his fed fucked after the Christmas break, Ovechkin accelerated his scoring pace to a level that puts the record of Gretzky at hand.
With goals in four of his last five games with Washington, he now has up to 26 goals in 39 games played this season. It is exactly two -thirds of one goal per game, which is higher than its career average of 0.60 goals per game.
Always a pure shooter, his precision is better than ever. Earlier in his career, Ovechkin was a question of volume, leading the league in total fire in 11 of its first 13 seasons, according to hockey-reference.com. Now it is more demanding, and its percentage of shooting has increased accordingly.
After having broken 14% twice during these first 13 seasons, he overshadowed this number in the past five of the last five years. The brand of this 18.4% season is its highest to date.
When is the big day?
If Ovechkin can follow his scoring pace of this season, he will need 24 games to score the 16 goals he will need to spend Gretzky.
Capitals still have 27 games in their season. If he remains in good health, the match 24 will be in Columbus on Saturday April 12.
If Ovechkin marks at his career in his career, he would need 27 games exactly to mark 16 times. Capitals finished their regular season in Pittsburgh on April 17. Imagine the moment if he broke the record by playing against Sidney Crosby at the PPG Pains Arena.
Could he get there faster? Do not exclude him.
Before being injured on November 18, Ovechkin scored 15 goals in 18 games. It is a rate of 0.833 goals per game. If he could come back to it after the break, he would only need 20 games. In this case, the file would fall to Raleigh on April 2 against the Hurricanes of Caroline.
Related: What leader of the NHL conference seems more ready for a deep playoff race: Capitals or Jets?
Could it be faster than Gretzky?
If Ovechkin could succeed, he had also reached another incredible brand – broke the goals record in fewer games played.
The 894 goals from Gretzky took place in 1487 games on 20 seasons. Ovechkin is currently 1,465 games. If he can get 16 goals in 22 games or less, he will establish a new standard.
And while occasional observers might think that Ovechkin has acquired its rating rate in the late stadiums of the seasons when it has driven 40, 50 or even 65 goals in the different years, the data does not confirm it. During his full career, hockey-reference.com shows that he scored 0.6004 goals per match before the stars break and 0.5991 after – a small difference, the first part of the season being actually a bit more productive.
But while February is generally his quietest month, at 0.56 goals per game, he scored in three out of four before the 4 nations break for 0.75.
When the action of the regular season resumes, the capital will play four other games in February, then 14 in March and nine in April. Unfortunately, they do not play on March 23, the 31st anniversary of the big evening of Gretzky.
Caps fans would undoubtedly love to see the record on the ice at home at Capital Onena, but it’s a bit long. Washington will only play three of his last nine games on home ice – welcoming the Chicago Blackhawks on April 4 (match 76), Hurricanes on April 10 (match 78) and Blue Jackets on April 13 (Match 80).
Another funny fact: despite the time he missed this season early, the 26 goals of Ovechkin are currently leading the capitals of the Eastern Conference, ahead of Tom Wilson (24) and Aliaksei Protas (22 ).
If Ovechkin ends the year in position n ° 1, he will just become the fifth NHL player aged 39 or over to lead his team in goals. The others are Shane Doan of Arizona Coyotes (2015-16), Jarumir Jagr with The Dallas Stars (2012-13), Johnny Bucyk with the Boston Bruins (1975-76) and Gordie Howe with the Red Wings of Detroit ( 1967-68) and Gordie Howe with the Detroit Red Wings (1967-68).
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