Kukla's Korner Hockey
Don’t Worry About Ovechkin
by Paul on 01/17/11 at 12:12 AM ET
Comments (2)
from Mike Wise of the Washington Post,
Coming into Sunday, Ovechkin averaged 21 minutes 34 seconds per night, which means he’s on the ice a little over one-third of the time.
LeBron James, who rivals Ovie as the most dynamic team-sport player in North America, has played 38 of 48 minutes in 40 games for the Miami Heat this season.
LeBron can not only control a game better because he has the ball in his hands for many more minutes than Ovechkin has the puck on his stick; a basketball player can go coast-to-coast much easier.
No one wants to end this goal funk more than Ovie. But other than the times it’s clearly cost the Capitals a victory, it might not be the worst thing to have this happen at midseason.
It says here one of the Caps’ main problems the past few years is watching Ovechkin weave through five bad guys as if they were traffic cones. He almost trusted himself too much with the puck, and the result was many of his gifted teammates turning into creasemen hoping for a rebound in front of the net.
If his teammates can play tick-tack-toe a few shifts, they are only going to get better as a team. Besides, it’s not like Ovechkin isn’t trying.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Washington Capitals, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: alexander+ovechkin
Comments
Who wants to bet next season’s headline halfway through the season is something about Ovechkin coming back with a vengeance? I don’t think forwards are supposed to see their shooting% halved from one season to the next, especially when taking close to or over 400 shots.
Posted by Ralph on 01/17/11 at 01:55 AM ET
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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.
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Whatever helps you sleep at night, no way that one trick pony was going to be able to keep it up for his whole career, so may as well come back to earth this season.
Posted by Greg on 01/17/11 at 12:30 AM ET