new blog title same content.

James thought you were better than this; regurgitating the same stuff over and over. Talk about something new.

I firmly believe that Ovi is older than he says he is. Maybe even on the wrong side of 35.
- mont23

This is the best comment about Ovechkin ever lol. I hope the nhl investigates.

you would think all the times Tanner talks about how great Brett Connolly supposedly is he would get the name right

They should find a coach to coddle Ovechkin

So what... treat him like a millenial?
"Oh Ovie, you tried. here's a Stanley Cup playoffs participation ribbon."

Please explain. Getting open for a shot is only one part of the equation , and not the hardest part about scoring a goal.
- Thorny87

Well goals are pretty much random - a goalie will save about 70% of high danger chances and pretty much all goalies in the NHl will save about 97% of low-danger chances.....but three "fluke" or "bad" goals go in out of every 100 shots......more if the goalie is playing badly.

So since we know about 3% of all shots from anywhere go in, we can reason that the best move a team can do is put a shot on net. This is literally a famous Wayne Gretzky quote from the 80s (you miss a 100% of the shots you don't take, or whatever).


Getting volume is the best thing you can do. Obviously in reality, all shots are not equal (shot quality debate is about large sample sizes and the realisticness of a team out-performing the normal amount of "high danger" scoring chances for an extended time).

For example, the only players who come anywhere near Ovechkin, volume-wise, are defenseman, who shoot way more of their shots from far away. However, many of those lead to scoring chances anyway, so I'm not sure the distinction is as big as it seems.

The main point is this: the forward with the most shots is usually going to have the most goals. He might not always actually get the most in a year to year basis, because you can run into hot goalies more frequently in a year as well, but generally speaking, getting off shots is the single most important thing a hockey player can do. (taking this to it's extreme and shooting wildly from anywhere with no regard to strategy is obviously not what I mean however, all this is said within the regular parameters of an average game).

new blog title same content.

James thought you were better than this; regurgitating the same stuff over and over. Talk about something new.
- rinaldo

I'll try harder. My sincere apologies that the offseason content isn't meeting your high standards. Just wait until my 2000 word essay grading the season of Jay Beagle. Then you'll be begging for more Ovechkin blogs.

I'll try harder. My sincere apologies that the offseason content isn't meeting your high standards. Just wait until my 2000 word essay grading the season of Jay Beagle. Then you'll be begging for more Ovechkin blogs.
- james_tanner1

when Tim Connolly played what was his Corsi like?

when Tim Connolly played what was his Corsi like?
- jimbo83

Tim Connolly was on the verge of being elite when he was knocked out of the playoffs

I stopped reading the blog half way through. Still harping on bad luck and randomness. Those statements are what are ridiculous not what the Caps GM said. The Caps GM is absolutely right. Ovechkin has to be better and become a better overall player.

Well goals are pretty much random - a goalie will save about 70% of high danger chances and pretty much all goalies in the NHl will save about 97% of low-danger chances.....but three "fluke" or "bad" goals go in out of every 100 shots......more if the goalie is playing badly.

So since we know about 3% of all shots from anywhere go in, we can reason that the best move a team can do is put a shot on net. This is literally a famous Wayne Gretzky quote from the 80s (you miss a 100% of the shots you don't take, or whatever).


Getting volume is the best thing you can do. Obviously in reality, all shots are not equal (shot quality debate is about large sample sizes and the realisticness of a team out-performing the normal amount of "high danger" scoring chances for an extended time).

For example, the only players who come anywhere near Ovechkin, volume-wise, are defenseman, who shoot way more of their shots from far away. However, many of those lead to scoring chances anyway, so I'm not sure the distinction is as big as it seems.

The main point is this: the forward with the most shots is usually going to have the most goals. He might not always actually get the most in a year to year basis, because you can run into hot goalies more frequently in a year as well, but generally speaking, getting off shots is the single most important thing a hockey player can do. (taking this to it's extreme and shooting wildly from anywhere with no regard to strategy is obviously not what I mean however, all this is said within the regular parameters of an average game).
- james_tanner1

I believe there is a lot of truth to this. Where you go wrong in not understanding the difference between Ovechkin taking 300 shots and say Jay Beagle. If it was possible, Beagle would not score nearly as many goals as Ovechkin would.

Ovechkin wasn't the problem or the reason the team lost. In fact, had his tying goal not hit the skinny part of Marc-Andre Fleury's goal-stick, the Capitals in all likelihood are the ones currently up 2-0 on the Predators.

You seriously need to let this go...

The Capitals are NOT the best team in the NHL.

Luck plays a part, for sure. But so do injuries, and certainly being able to battle on in spite of substantial injuries is one way to measure a true champion.


GO PENS !!

I believe there is a lot of truth to this. Where you go wrong in not understanding the difference between Ovechkin taking 300 shots and say Jay Beagle. If it was possible, Beagle would not score nearly as many goals as Ovechkin would.
- MJL

I think that if you hung out with Jay Beagle and Ovechkin and watched them fire pucks unimpeded by other players, I doubt there is as big a difference as you think.

I am sure Ovechkin is better, no doubt. However, I would say that what seperates OV from everyone else is his ability to take 350 shots a year, not necessarily his shot.

(this partly bears out in how awful OV has been in shootouts throughout his career. You'd think he'd dominate them, but he doesn't. )

I'll try harder. My sincere apologies that the offseason content isn't meeting your high standards. Just wait until my 2000 word essay grading the season of Jay Beagle. Then you'll be begging for more Ovechkin blogs.
- james_tanner1

not even about trying harder. been preaching that same narrative for weeks now. Give it a rest.

So you believe that after a decade scoring at over a 40 goal pace, he all of the sudden stopped taking shots in certain spots on the ice?

Even if he truly had a down year (he didn't) that doesn't mean he won't return to 40+ goals for the next 3-4 years
- sbroads24

He did have a down year. His stats were down.

"And his shooting percentage was 7.25%, not only the lowest, but about 3 percentage points lower than his career."

Is that his career 5v5 shooting percentage?

I think that if you hung out with Jay Beagle and Ovechkin and watched them fire pucks unimpeded by other players, I doubt there is as big a difference as you think.

I am sure Ovechkin is better, no doubt. However, I would say that what seperates OV from everyone else is his ability to take 350 shots a year, not necessarily his shot.

(this partly bears out in how awful OV has been in shootouts throughout his career. You'd think he'd dominate them, but he doesn't. )
- james_tanner1

I think you'd find out how wrong you are about that and you'd find that there is a huge difference. Breakaways are a lot different than 5 on 5 action.

I think that if you hung out with Jay Beagle and Ovechkin and watched them fire pucks unimpeded by other players, I doubt there is as big a difference as you think.

I am sure Ovechkin is better, no doubt. However, I would say that what seperates OV from everyone else is his ability to take 350 shots a year, not necessarily his shot.

(this partly bears out in how awful OV has been in shootouts throughout his career. You'd think he'd dominate them, but he doesn't. )
- james_tanner1

Holy frank.

Holy frankity frank.

You have never actually played hockey, have you, Tanner?

How could you possibly make this statement?

You have never watched an NHL game live!

The Capitals are NOT the best team in the NHL.

Luck plays a part, for sure. But so do injuries, and certainly being able to battle on in spite of substantial injuries is one way to measure a true champion.


GO PENS !!
- skridscousin

And unless NSH wins 4-of-5, the 'guins will be the best, again. And with all the injuries, they will be a great measure of a champion.

I think that if you hung out with Jay Beagle and Ovechkin and watched them fire pucks unimpeded by other players, I doubt there is as big a difference as you think.

I am sure Ovechkin is better, no doubt. However, I would say that what seperates OV from everyone else is his ability to take 350 shots a year, not necessarily his shot.

(this partly bears out in how awful OV has been in shootouts throughout his career. You'd think he'd dominate them, but he doesn't. )
- james_tanner1

You realize part of his shot is how quickly he can get off a fast and accurate shot?

geez, at least update the blog and fix the Tim Connolly thing

I'm not a Capitals fan. I don't dislike them either. I've lived all my life in Edmonton. Yes, I know... born under a lucky hockey puck shaped star.

Ovechkin is an amazing player. My casual impression from afar is that he is not a leader, like Gretzky, Yzerman, Lemieux, Toews and Crosby. I mean he is not a kind of player that inspires the other players around him to elevate their game and give a little extra for their leader and for their team. To be that person, you need to be highly skilled but also unselfish.

My own perception of Ovechkin is an underlying selfishness. Don't get me wrong, selfishness is not necessarily a bad thing. It is easy for anyone supremely talented to become somewhat selfish. But the teammates need to feel that the leader sincerely also wants them to succeed individually for them to go through the wall for him.

Ovechkin has amazing skill. That is why the team is successful when the going is easy. But He lacks that intangible inspirational quality for when the going gets tough. That is my objective perception of him. I don't have anything against him. Trotz is doing his best to put Ovechkin in a situation to make him appear that he is all about the "team". But it is impossible to hide someone's true colours.

I don't believe Ovechkin will ever win the cup until he plays with a Player who has that "leader" quality. Because in my opinion, he does not.
- EdmontonLawyer

You're spot on with that post. This is why it should be time for my team to move on from #8.

ovechkin has always played this way idk why everyone is making a huge deal about it now......his speed has slightly decreased and his d zone play has slightly increased.....his goals went down but his assist went up. i think the caps powerplay not being nearly as effective could be a reason why his goals are down or maybe oshie getting more looks on the powerplay than ovi. who knows but if the caps beat the pens this and last year they are cup champs 2 years in a row. they lost to a great team both years....best comparison i could give would be golden state and cleveland playing in the second round 2 years in a row....the cup was won in the 2nd round both years. (figuratively not literally)

You realize part of his shot is how quickly he can get off a fast and accurate shot?
- Tumbleweed

No he doesn't. These are things a person who has actually played the game would understand. It's not something that one can learn from corsi. Objectivity and experience matter little to Jimmy Tan Tan.

My own perception of Ovechkin is an underlying selfishness. Don't get me wrong, selfishness is not necessarily a bad thing. It is easy for anyone supremely talented to become somewhat selfish. But the teammates need to feel that the leader sincerely also wants them to succeed individually for them to go through the wall for him.

- EdmontonLawyer

I'm going to defend Ovi here, which really makes me feel dirty, but here goes:

Ovi isn't selfish. Or he is selfish, but it isn't his fault.

In every other country on earth, Ovi is held up as how wingers should play. It's their job to score goals.

The simple fact is that Ovi would have never come out of the Canadian hockey system.

First off, any kid with superior offensive skills is immediately put at centre.

And then the style of Ovi's play (and Bure's, and Kessel's, and Selanne's, etc.) is drummed out of them.

It's why Canada never produces great wingers.