Whether it’s the switch he made back to CCM Hockey, or the chemistry he’s found with fellow Russian Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ovi has come out of the gate firing on all cylinders, scoring nine goals in the Capitals first five games.
It’s completely outlandish to assume Ovechkin will even keep up half this pace, as he’s on track for 148 goals on the season. A career 12.4 percent shooter, Ovechkin is shooting the lights out by converting on 31 percent of his shots and is the undoubtedly the hottest goal scorer in the league right now.
Ovechkin finished Friday night’s contest against New Jersey with a goal and an assist. His 9 goals and one assist on the year looks like a Cy Young candidate’s box score.
Despite starting his career in 2005, his 567 goals are the most since the 1999-200 season. A large portion of Ovechkin’s production is due to the fact that he’s playing with Kuznetsov, who’s taken over as the Capitals first line centre.
Kuzy has ten apples on the season, tying Sergei Makarov’s record for the most assists by a Russian player through the first five games of a season.
Ovechkin’s nine goals to open up the season put him in some elite company.
He’s already reached the quarter mark of his goals from last season, and is on the hottest scoring streak of his career. Ovechkin has reached eight goals through five games four times in his career.
Perhaps the most impressive feat is that Ovechkin has more goals than seven NHL teams, although he has played more games than all of them. Ovi has never scored this many goals through five games, which makes you wonder if this could be The Great Eight’s best season yet when many thought he was on the downslope of his career.
Could Ovechkin match his career high of 65 goals he scored ten years ago? Even if he slows down, he needs 57 more goals in 77 games to set a career high of 66.
