Updated:
Is there a team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs or on planet Earth that can atop Alex Ovechkin right now?
I dare say no.
The Great 8 is a man on a mission.
Ovechkin pumped in two goals and added an assist in his team's 6-1 bludgeoning of the Philadelphia Flyers in their barn in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference First Round on Monday night
The Caps scored five power-play goals, the most in their history in a Stanley Cup Playoff game.
This is not a typo:
Ovechkin ane his Caps PP was 5-for-9 in Game 3 in Philly and are now 8-for-17 with the man-advantage against the Flyers penalty kill in round one.
"Our power play has confidence, and they keep giving us lots of practice," Caps bench boss Barry Trotz told the team's website.
"We just did what we did. We stayed to our game plan and script".
It's the first time the Capitals have led a series 3-0; they lost in Game 3 the seven previous times they went up 2-0.
Last month, I picked Anaheim and Washingto to play for the Stanley Cup in June. I still like my pick.
**
Playing without Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek, the Minnesota Wild offense sputtered and stuttered in Games 1 and 2 of their first round series against the high octane Dallas Stars.
In Game 3, the Wild found themselves in a quick 2-0 hole less than five minutes into the game, however, they found a way to fight their way off the chain link fencing of the octagon.
The Wild gave the Wild gave their home fana something to believe in when they scored four unanswered goals in their 5-3 win.
To my untrained eye, it looked like the Stars took the Wild for granted after they took their 2-0 lead in Game 3.
I'll bet that Lindy Ruff will have a plan of correction in place to prevent a similar outcome in Game 4.
**
The Hollywood Kings had seen this movie before.
In 2014, the Kings somehow overcame a 3-0 series lead against the scrappy San Jose Sharks to fight their way to a series win.
Was it the biggest choke job in NHL history? Or, was it one of the greatest comebacks?
You be the judge.
On Monday night in the Shark Tank, Kings sniper Tanner Pearson scored the game winner at 3:47 of overtime to give the Kings a 2-1 win against the Sharks. The Kings needed that win badly to kill a first round sweep at the fins of the aggressive Sharks.
***
Move over Sidney Crosby and Geno Malkin.
Ryan O'Reilly, Jack Eichel, Samson Reinhart and the all new and improved Buffalo Sabres are the new number one NHL local TV ratings market. The Sabres have knocked the crown from the heads of the Penguins.
Buffalo, NY averaged an NHL leading 6.55 rating for their games on Madison Square Garden network in the 2015-16 season.
I've said it before, and I will say it again:
Give Buffalo Sabres a reason to believe and they will support you 100%.
IF YOU BUILD IT, THEY WILL COME.
Buffalo Sabres game broadcast ratings have grown 60% from Buffalo’s 2014-15 season tanking season average. This represents the largest ratings growth in the NHL.
The last time that the Buffalo Sabres led the NHL with the highest local TV ratings was the 2008-09 season.
The NHL and it's broadcast rights holders at NBC and Comcast will surely want to schedule Eichel and his rock band many times this upcoming season.
How stupid do NHL and NBC execs feel now for their bone headed decision to NOT broadcast the first ever Eichel vs. McDavid game on March 1?
McDavid's OT GWG was sensational. All of Canada saw it on Sportsnet. You saw it on MSG in Buffalo. Too bad the national audience in the U.S. missed that thrilling and dramatic game.
Great look, NBCSN.
Buffalo fans fell head over heels for their team this season. There were many factors why. The arrival of Jack Eichel. The success of Samson Reinhart. Eichel and Reinhart were the second overall draft choices of the Sabres in the 2015 and 2015 seasons, respectively. The acquisition of veteran leaders of Ryan O'Reilly and Evander Kane also helped pave the way. The maturity of Finnish tower of power Rasmus Ristoalinen. The emergence of goalies Chad Johnson and Robin Lehner
Sabres fans are a loyal nation. They were asked three years ago by their former GM Darcy Regier to be patient and to accept the pain and suffering of rebuilding.
Dan Bylsma's team nutted up and responded to their new coaching staff in 2015-16. The young, rebuilt Sabres provided an compete factor the likes of which their fans hadn't seen since before Ryan Miller, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, Tyler Myers, Drew Stafford and the old school Sabres left town.
Bylsma's former team, Pittsburgh Penguins averaged a 5.87 average rating on Root Sports this season, which was their lowest since it earned a 5.82 rating in 2007-08.
2015-16 marks the third straight season of TV ratings decreases for the Penguins.
Boston and Chicago also saw their third consecutive ratings declines.
SportsBusiness Journal analyzed ratings data from 21 of the NHL’s 23 U.S.-based clubs; information on Carolina and Nashville was not available. Ratings also were not available for the league’s seven Canadian teams.Of the 21 clubs analyzed, 12 saw an increase in average rating compared with last year; nine saw a decline.
Joining the Sabres as the league leaders for ratings increases were Anaheim, Florida, Los Angeles and Tampa Bay. All four of those clubs made the playoffs.
The New York Islanders saw the sharpest ratings decline across the league, with its average rating on MSG falling 28 percent compared with 2014-15. Last season, the team had the highest increase across the league (79 percent), with its final season in Nassau Coliseum and a brief playoff run raising interest. Even with the team hitting the 100-point mark in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the early 1980s and a new home at the Barclays Center, ratings fell back this season.
The Florida Panthers, despite their first division title since 2011-12, had the lowest recorded average rating across the league for the second consecutive season, at 0.25. That mark, however, is up 47 percent from last year’s 0.17 average.