from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

It all rests on Alex Ovechkin ... again.

Only he can save the NHL from going without a 50-goal scorer for the first time in a full season in the salary-cap era.

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised if Ovi ripped off eight goals in the last however many games they have left,'' Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said Monday over the phone, a day before Ovechkin notched No. 43 against the Ottawa Senators.

"That's very true," echoed Ducks star winger Corey Perry on Wednesday, when relayed Stamkos' confidence in Ovechkin getting it done.

Maybe Ovechkin will do it again. He needs seven goals in his final 10 games. One should never bet against the Russian goal machine.

But if he doesn't, the specter of the NHL's first full season without a 50-goal scorer since 2003-04 -- a.k.a., the Dead Puck Era -- certainly underlines what everyone has known for a while: It's hard to score goals in this league.

continue with Stamkos and Perry weighing in...