[10-FEB-2017] #NickyWatch... creeping up on 700 career points!

Faithful sidekick Nicklas Bäckström has 699 career points! That puts him at 228th overall, all time. With his next point, he will reach the 700 point plateau. His 699th point came in his 707th game, making him very nearly a point-per-game player, career-long! If we put Bäckström at roughly a point per game, he should finish the season with ~82 points. With 55 games played, if we start with his 642 total from last year and add 82 to that, we get ~724. 

There are three active players in the block that Bäckström is currently in: Patrick Kane, Anže Kopitar, and Corey Perry. 

#205....Bob Nevin..............726 P.....1128 GP.....1957-1976
#206....Kevin Stevens..........726 P......874 GP.....1987-2002
#207....Dave Babych............723 P.....1195 GP.....1980-1999
#208....Petr Sýkora............721 P.....1017 GP.....1995-2012
#209....Alexei Zhamnov.........719 P......807 GP.....1992-2006
#210....Dave Gagner............719 P......946 GP.....1984-1999
#211....Martin Straka..........717 P......954 GP.....1992-2008
#212....Petr Nedvěd............716 P......982 GP.....1990-2007
#213....Patrick Kane...........716 P......713 GP.....2007-present
#214....Anže Kopitar...........716 P......813 GP.....2006-present
#215....George Armstrong.......713 P.....1187 GP.....1951-1970
#216....Žigmund (Ziggy) Pálffy.713 P......684 GP.....1993-2006
#217....Vic Hadfield...........712 P.....1002 GP.....1961-1977
#218....Charlie Simmer.........711 P......712 GP.....1974-1988
#219....Doug Mohns.............710 P.....1390 GP.....1953-1975
#220....Marc Savard............706 P......807 GP.....1997-2011
#221....Corey Perry............703 P......860 GP.....2005-present
#222....Bobby Rousseau.........703 P......942 GP.....1960-1975
#223....Robert Lang............703 P......989 GP.....1992-2010
#224....Rene Robert............702 P......744 GP.....1970-1982
#225....Richard Martin.........701 P......685 GP.....1971-1982
#226....Mel Bridgman...........701 P......977 GP.....1975-1989
#227....Geoff Sanderson........700 P.....1104 GP.....1990-2008
#228....Nicklas Bäckström......699 P......707 GP.....2007-present

Tomorrow, the bio of Geoff Sanderson... 

[08-FEB-2017] #OviWatch, etc.

Ovi now has 551 goals in 893 games played, creeping up on John Bucyk.

#20.....Mark Recchi..........577 G..........1652 GP.....1988-2011

#21.....Mike Bossy...........573 G...........752 GP.....1977-1987

#22.....Mats Sundin..........564 G..........1346 GP.....1990-2009

#23.....Joe Nieuwendyk.......564 G..........1257 GP.....1986-2007

#24.....Mike Modano..........561 G..........1499 GP.....1989-2011

#25.....Guy Lafleur..........560 G..........1126 GP.....1971-1991

#26.....Johnny Bucyk.........556 G..........1540 GP.....1955-1978

#27.....Alex Ovechkin........551 G...........893 GP.....2005-present

#28.....Ron Francis..........549 G..........1731 GP.....1981-2004

#29.....Michel Goulet........548 G..........1089 GP.....1979-1994

#30.....Maurice Richard......544 G...........978 GP.....1942-1960

#31.....Stan Mikita..........541 G..........1394 GP.....1958-1980

#32.....Keith Tkachuk........538 G..........1201 GP.....1991-2010

Ovi's scoring rate has dropped off a bit, but hopefully it will pick up in the last third of the season (and into the playoffs!) 

For Power Play Goals, Ovi is now at 206, creeping up on Keith Tkachuk, whom he passed in goals overall earlier this season.

#01.....Dave Andreychuk......274 PPG........1639 GP.....1982-2006

#02.....Brett Hull...........265 PPG........1269 GP.....1986-2006

#03.....Teemu Selanne........255 PPG........1451 GP.....1992-2014

#04.....Phil Esposito........249 PPG........1282 GP.....1963-1981

#05.....Luc Robataille.......247 PPG........1431 GP.....1986-2006

#06.....Brendan Shanahan.....237 PPG........1524 GP.....1987-2009

#07.....Mario Lemieux........236 PPG.........915 GP.....1984-2006

#08.....Marcel Dionne........234 PPG........1348 GP.....1971-1989

#09.....Dino Ciccarelli......232 PPG........1232 GP.....1980-1999

#10.....Mike Gartner.........217 PPG........1432 GP.....1979-1998

#11.....Joe Nieuwendyk.......215 PPG........1257 GP.....1986-2007

#12.....Jaromir Jagr.........214 PPG........1681 GP.....1990-present

#13.....Keith Tkachuk........212 PPG........1201 GP.....1991-2010

#14.....Alex Ovechkin........206 PPG.........893 GP.....2005-present

#15.....Joe Sakic............205 PPG........1387 GP.....1988-2009

Of the top 15 in Power Play Goals, only Ovi and Jagr are still active players. With 11 PPG in 54 GP, Ovi is scoring at a rate of roughly 0.204/game, meaning he is on pace for 16-17 PPG this season. If he gets 5 more, that will put him at 211, right behind Tkachuk. Jagr has 5 PPG this year, in 52 GP.

With 95 GWG, Ovi is now 10th all time. Here's the list for that.

#01.....Jaromir Jagr........134 GWG........1681 GP.....1990-present

#02.....Phil Esposito.......118 GWG........1282 GP.....1963-1981

#03.....Brett Hull..........110 GWG........1269 GP.....1986-2006

#04.....Teemu Selanne.......110 GWG........1451 GP.....1992-2014

#05.....Brendan Shanahan....109 GWG........1524 GP.....1987-2009

#06.....Patrick Marleau......97 GWG........1465 GP.....1997-present

#07.....Jarome Iginla........97 GWG........1524 GP.....1996-present

#08.....Guy Lafleur..........97 GWG........1126 GP.....1971-1991

#09.....Mats Sundin..........96 GWG........1346 GP.....1990-2009

#10.....Alex Ovechkin........95 GWG.........893 GP.....2005-present

Our Hero is moving up the ranks! 

#TrotzWatch

Head Coach Barry Trotz has a record of 694-534-60 in 1413 games played. This puts him 6th on the list. S/T to HockeyReference.com for the stats!

1. Scotty Bowman.........1244 wins in 2141 games
2. Joel Quenneville.......833 wins in 1511 games
3. Al Arbour..............782 wins in 1607 games
4. Ken Hitchcock..........781 wins in 1454 games
5. Lindy Ruff.............723 wins in 1465 games

6. Barry Trotz............695 wins in 1414 games

7. Dick Irvin.............692 wins in 1449 games

8. Pat Quinn..............684 wins in 1400 games

#HoltBEASTWatch

Our HoltBEAST now has a GAA of 1.94, good for first in the league on the season. With 7 shutouts under his belt, he is tied with Peter Budaj (whose team was in turn shut out by the Caps this past week) for first in the league there.

With 27 wins, HoltBEAST sits in 3rd place behind Devan Dubnyk and Sergei Bobrovsky (29 each). With a .930 SV%, Holts is in 3rd place behind Jimmy Howard (.934) and Devan Dubnyk (.933).

[06-FEB-2017] #TrotzWatch

Head Coach Barry Trotz has a record of 694-534-60 in 1413 games played. This puts him 6th on the list.

1. Scotty Bowman.........1244 wins in 2141 games
2. Joel Quenneville.......831 wins in 1508 games
3. Al Arbour..............782 wins in 1607 games
4. Ken Hitchcock..........781 wins in 1453 games
5. Lindy Ruff.............722 wins in 1461 games

6. Barry Trotz............694 wins in 1413 games

7. Dick Irvin.............692 wins in 1449 games

8. Pat Quinn..............684 wins in 1400 games

[03-Feb-2017] NHL.com sees Ovi

The NHL has *gasp* noticed they have an elite goal-scorer in Our Hero. It took them long enough! These screen captures are from this clip on NHL.com. :-) Cool stuff!

And here is the video clip of his 550th career goal, his 205th career power play goal, a rocket snipe from his office to beat Bruins goaltender Tuuka Rask.

[02-02-2017] 550!

As of last night's 5-3 victory over the Boston Bruins, Our Hero has 550 goals in 890 games played! 

#20.....Mark Recchi..........577 G..........1652 GP

#21.....Mike Bossy...........573 G...........752 GP

#22.....Mats Sundin..........564 G..........1346 GP

#23.....Joe Nieuwendyk.......564 G..........1257 GP

#24.....Mike Modano..........561 G..........1499 GP

#25.....Guy Lafleur..........560 G..........1126 GP

#26.....John Bucyk...........556 G..........1540 GP

#27.....Alex Ovechkin........550 G...........890 GP

#28.....Ron Francis..........549 G..........1731 GP

#29.....Michel Goulet........548 G..........1089 GP

#30.....Maurice Richard......544 G...........978 GP

#31.....Stan Mikita..........541 G..........1394 GP

#32.....Keith Tkachuk........538 G..........1201 GP

With the Bucyk bio published yesterday, we'll leave it at that, but... Our Hero has also surpassed the Great One, Wayne Gretzky, with his 205th power play goal. Here's the list (S/T to QuantHockey.com):

#01.....Dave Andreychuk......274 PPG........1639 GP

#02.....Brett Hull...........265 PPG........1269 GP

#03.....Teemu Selänne........255 PPG........1451 GP

#04.....Phil Esposito........249 PPG........1282 GP

#05.....Luc Robataille.......247 PPG........1431 GP

#06.....Brendan Shanahan.....237 PPG........1524 GP

#07.....Mario Lemieux........236 PPG.........915 GP

#08.....Marcel Dionne........234 PPG........1348 GP

#09.....Dino Ciccarelli......232 PPG........1232 GP

#10.....Mike Gartner.........217 PPG........1432 GP

#11.....Joe Nieuwendyk.......215 PPG........1257 GP

#12.....Jaromir Jágr.........214 PPG........1680 GP

#13.....Keith Tkachuk........212 PPG........1201 GP

#14.....Alex Ovechkin........205 PPG.........890 GP

#14.....Joe Sakic............205 PPG........1378 GP

#16.....Wayne Gretzky........204 PPG........1487 GP

He's creeping  up on Jágr, who is the only other active player in the top 20 all time for power play goals. With his next PPG, he will surpass Joe Sakic, with whom he is now tied. Saloc, born July 7 1969 in Burnaby, British Columbia, is currently working as the Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations for the Colorado Avalanche, the team for which he played his entire career, making the move with the former Quebec Nordiques team when they became the Avalanche in the 1995-96 season. 

He began his playing career as a Nordique, in the 1988-89 season, after being drafted 15th overall in the 1987 entry draft. Sakic would miss out on the Calder Memorial Trophy his rookie season due to an ankle injury that halted a torrid first season's scoring pace. He was named sole captain of the Quebec Nordiques in the 1992-93 season, and led the team to the playoffs, a first in six seasons after several bottom of the league/division finishes. When the team relocated to Colorado, Sakic led them to their first Stanley Cup championship, in 1995-96, and was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner for that playoff run. His 18 goals fell one short of the NHL record, and his six game winning goals set the new record in that category. 

Sakic's later career would be marred by injuries. He retired from the game on July 9, 2009, at the age of 40, and his jersey number (19) was retired by the club on October 1st of that year. Sakic was the first captain of the Avalanche, and remained in that position until he retired. Two years after retirement, he returned to work for the Avalanche's front office. Off the ice, Sakic hosts a yearly charity golf tournament to benefit the Food Bank of the Rockies. 

[01-FEB-2017] #OviWatch - 549 in 889

As of last night's loss to the New York Islanders (wherein Ovi got pulled down behind the net with seconds to go, setting up a lovely empty netter for the victorious cheating Isles), Our Hero has 24 goals in 50 games on the season. That brings him to 549 goals in 889 games, career, tying him with Ron Francis. Next up is John Bucyk.

#20.....Mark Recchi..........577 G..........1652 GP

#21.....Mike Bossy...........573 G...........752 GP

#22.....Mats Sundin..........564 G..........1346 GP

#23.....Joe Nieuwendyk.......564 G..........1257 GP

#24.....Mike Modano..........561 G..........1499 GP

#25.....Guy Lafleur..........560 G..........1126 GP

#26.....John Bucyk...........556 G..........1540 GP

#27.....Alex Ovechkin........549 G...........889 GP

#27.....Ron Francis..........549 G..........1731 GP

#29.....Michel Goulet........548 G..........1089 GP

#30.....Maurice Richard......544 G...........978 GP

#31.....Stan Mikita..........541 G..........1394 GP

#32.....Keith Tkachuk........538 G..........1201 GP

Johnny Bucyk - One of the 100 Greatest Players in NHL History 

Born May 12, 1935, Bucyk (nicknamed "Chief") is one of the Top 100 NHL Players in History. Bucyk, at left wing, began his NHL career for the 1955-56 Detroit Red Wings, played 6 games in the then-WHL Edmonton Flyers, and returned to the Red Wings for the full 1956-57 season before being traded to the Boston Bruins for goaltender Terry Sawchuk.

Bucyk would play the rest of his career for Boston; he now acts as the team's Ambassador, after serving as the team's director of road services, and has been with the Bruins for 58 consecutive years. FIFTY EIGHT consecutive years! That's longer than this blogger's been alive! 

Bucyk's playing career ended after the 1977-78 season with his #9 jersey being retired by the Bruins. He still holds the team record for goals, although his records for points and assists were later surpassed by Ray Bourque. 

It will take Ovi another 7 goals to catch Bucyk. At his present rate, .48 goals per game, Ovi is on pace for around 40 goals this season... he will need to step it up to get the 51 I projected for him, but 40 will put him at 565 goals career, just ahead of #22 Mats Sundin. I still think he has the opportunity to step up his scoring pace; if the Caps can keep playing at the level they have been (last night's unfortunate loss notwithstanding), I'm not worried. He'll get there.