#OviWatch
At the start of the season, Ovi had 658 goals. Since that time, he has scored 13 goals, sitting tied for 3rd in the league behind David Pastrnak (BOS-16G) and Leon Draisaitl (EDM-15G).
13 goals in 20 games is a .65 goals-per-game pace. Multiply that by a full 82 game season, and Ovi is on pace for 53 goals... so Mike Gartner is still inside the pace, 20 games in.
Next up, with 684 goals, is Teemu Selänne. Selänne was born in 1970 in Helsinki, Finland (on my 5th birthday, coincidentally), and began his career playing for Helsingin Jokerit (the Helsinki Jesters) in the SM-liiga. Jokerit, incidentally, is now a part of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), and is the first team from the Nordic countries to play in that league. He made his NHL debut with the (then) Winnipeg Jets on October 6, 1992. His 76 goals in his first NHL season set the record for rookies; however, he never again matched that total, playing for Winnipeg until February 6, 1996, when he was traded to the Anaheim (then) Mighty Ducks. In 2000-01, he was traded to the San Jose Sharks, where he played until the end of the 2003-04 season; the 2004-05 season was eliminated due to the lockout, and in 2005-06, Selänne returned to Anaheim, where he finished out his career with 1,451 NHL games played, 684 goals scored, 773 assists, and 1457 points. His number, which coincidentally, is 8, was retired by the Ducks on January 11, 2015.
In the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Selänne was named MVP as selected by the media, and the Finnish team both eliminated Russia from the tournament, then defeated the United States in the bronze medal game. He and his wife, Sirpa, have four children: Eemil, Eetu, Leevi, and Veera. They reside in southern California. He collects cars, and has raced in the World Rally Championship twice. He is owner, with Kevin Pratt, of the Selanne Steak Tavern, which has a positively drool-worthy (but expensive) menu, and is located in Laguna Beach, California.
Here's Ovi where he stands right now. My 2019-20 Pre-flections remain as-stated before the season began.
01 - Wayne Gretzky............894 G - 223
02 - Gordie Howe..............801 G - 130
03 - Jaromir Jagr.............766 G - 95
04 - Brett Hull...............741 G - 70
05 - Marcel Dionne............731 G - 60
06 - Phil Esposito............717 G - 46
--------------------------------------------Possible---
07 - Mike Gartner.............708 G - 37
--------------------------------------------Probable---
08 - Mark Messier.............694 G - 23
09 - Steve Yzerman............692 G - 21
10 - Mario Lemieux............690 G - 19
11 - Teemu Selanne............684 G - 13
12 - Alex Ovechkin............671 G
11 - Luc Robataille...........668 G
#NickyWatch
Nicklas Bäckström has quietly moved up the points standings to 118th overall. He's off his usual pace, with 15 points in 20 games played (4G, 11A), though that should pick up as the season continues. His 15 points have been doubled up by John Carlson, who is sitting at 30 (8G, 22A) points in 20 games played right now, and is kicking everyone's ass in that regard, including Ovi's!
The top 5 for the Caps, points-wise, are rounded out with Evgeny Kuznetsov (18 points in 17 games played (8G, 10A)), Jakub Vrana (17 points in 20 games played (8G, 17A)), and Tom Wilson (16 points in 20 games played (8G, 16A)).
Bäckström is currently sitting in 6th place on the team - which isn't a bad place to be for a team that is in first place in the NHL standings.
#ZeroClub
Carl Hagelin, Travis Boyd, Nick Jensen, Richard Panik, and Tyler Lewington have yet to score one goal for the Caps this season. We'll see how that plays out.
