Alexander Ovechkin scored 53 goals to capture his third consecutive and fifth overall Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the league's leading goal scorer. He also won in 2007-08, 2008-09, 2012-13 and 2013-14.
Ovie also led the League and set a career high/franchise record with 25 power-play goals, while his 11 game-winning goals paced the NHL and matched a personal best. Ovechkin, who finished the season ahead of Lightning captain Steven Stamkos (43) and Rangers forward Rick Nash (42), scored 41 of his 53 goals in the final 55 games of season (0.75 GPG).
Ovechkin became the sixth player in NHL history to record six 50-goal seasons, joining Mike Bossy (9), Wayne Gretzky (9), Marcel Dionne (6), Guy Lafleur (6) and Mario Lemieux (6).
Ovie has taken some flack over the years mostly for his teams' lack of success in the NHL and internationally. But his numbers are undeniable. And his resurrection this year under coach Barry Trotz really brings him back to relevance.
Add to that Sidney Crosby's somewhat ordinary season and maybe the Ovechkin vs Crosby debate as the best player of this generation is not over after all.
1 comment:
I find it amusing that anyone has ever thought that 'competition' between Crosby and Ovi was 'over', despite the FACT that Ovi has won the majority of the awards. Crosby has won a Cup (which he should thank Malkin every day for) and two Olympic gold medals where everyone forgets that he was almost entirely invisible throughout the Olympics until the end of the last games.
There is no competition. They play different positions, they have different responsibilities. But if you INSIST on a competition, then Ovechkin wins, as his lead over other wingers is greater than Crosby's lead over other centers. The only way to 'compare' apples and oranges is to compare them to the rest of their kind then rank where the apples stands among apples against where the orange stands among oranges.
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