Ovechkin’s Gr8ness

It had to happen in his office.  On Sunday, Alex Ovechkin set the NHL goal scoring record, tallying his 895th career goal from his hot spot against the Islanders.  In my preseason bold predictions, I said that Ovechkin would break the record this season despite his projections being in the low 30’s both by sportsbooks and projection systems.  You can see everything I wrote here (I will look back at all of these in a post once the season is over).  I have to say that I never saw it coming after his injury.  Forty-two goals in 61 games is absolutely insane for anyone, let alone a 39 year old.  That’s why he’s the greatest goal scorer we have ever seen.  It will be fascinating to see where he’s ranked next season, in what presumably will be his last in the NHL.  I had him 45th overall going into the season, a bit above ADP, but I think it has to be higher than that now.  The Capitals are very good, and on a per-game basis, Ovechkin is a top ten forward this season.  I can’t wait to see how the Capitals do in the playoffs, Ovechkin included.  Let’s take a look at some other highlights from the weekend:

The Red Wings kept their faint playoff hopes alive with two wins over playoff teams, beating the Hurricanes and Panthers.  I’ll talk more about the Panthers later.  Alex DeBrincat led the way with two goals and an assist with six shots between the two games.  Very little attention has been paid to DeBrincat this season, but here he is sitting with 35 goals for the third time in his career.  With a shot rate always around three per game and the goals that come with that, he’ll remain a top 100 player with top 50 upside for at least the next few years.  Cam Talbot started both games and I would expect him to play every game until Detroit is eliminated.  Their next game is Tuesday in a must win against the team they’re chasing…

The Montreal Canadiens!  The second wild card has been begging for a team to get hot and take it, and it’s been Montreal.  They’ve now won five in a row after beating the Flyers and Predators.  They’re now six points clear of the Rangers and Red Wings, although both have a game in hand.  If Detroit beats Montreal on Tuesday, it gets interesting.  If Montreal wins, that pretty much locks it up.  Even one point for Montreal is fine, so if I was Detroit, I’d be pulling the goalie in a tie game late to try and deny Montreal that point.  Nick Suzuki has elevated to superstar level this season and is carrying them down the stretch, totaling a goal and two assists with three shots over the weekend.  They also signed Jacob Fowler to an ELC.  Fowler won’t be up now, but he is the goalie of the future for Montreal.  Given the rise Montreal has made this season, Fowler is a great dynasty asset.

To get back to Florida, all of Bennett, Reinhart, and Forsling didn’t play on Sunday against Detroit for precautionary reasons / “nagging injuries.”  Reinhart hadn’t missed a game in almost three years, so I’m going to put my conspiracy hat on.  I think Florida wants to have the option of throwing away a game or two at the end of the season to let Ottawa pass them and draw Toronto in the first round instead of Tampa.  I could be wrong and Florida simply doesn’t care about their playoff path, but it is bizarre to see a team effectively throw away a game (Bob didn’t start either) when they’re two points from home ice advantage.  Anton Lundell is the biggest win right now with Barkov off, and it’s even bigger with Bennett missing.

Kirill Kaprizov could return this week.  Out of nowhere, the Wild are clinging to the second wild card spot, moreso because of the Blues winning twelve in a row to pass them.  The Flames are six points behind the Wild but have two games in hand.  Given the Wild have the tiebreaker, I fully expect them to stay in the playoffs, but it’s great for them to get Kaprizov back before the playoffs.  The two teams match up on Friday, so I assume the Wild will be targeting that game for Kaprizov’s return.

The hottest player in the league over the last two weeks?  Robert Thomas.  He had another four point outing against Colorado on Saturday.

Speaking of the Flames, they’re the only team that still has six games left.  They have two games with the Sharks and a game with Anaheim left, making them great streaming candidates.  I’m looking at you, Matt Coronato (and the usual candidates).

Colorado has a truly bizarre schedule.  Their season ends on Sunday with there being four days of games after that.  That means a few things.  One, if your fantasy league goes through the end of the regular season, you can cut all of your Avs after Sunday.  Two, the Avs will certainly be playing on the first day of the playoffs next Saturday.  Three, could we see Gabriel Landeskog play his first game in years on that Saturday?  It’s all speculation, but with all he’s been through, I really hope he’s out there.

With seven goals in the last four games, Tage Thompson is up to 43 goals on the season.  We’re getting a massive Sabres late season run that will do nothing but tank their draft pick, but at the same time, they’re an organization that can actually use the good vibes going into the offseason.  Thompson is going off with a 19 and 20 year old on his line.  It’s a shame that the Sabres are wasting truly elite seasons from him and Dahlin, but here we are.  Thompson has solidified himself as one of the best goal scorers in the game.  Maybe put him on the Olympic team please!?

This is a friendly reminder that if you’re lucky enough to be competing down the stretch of your league, you have to pay more attention to guys sitting out.  Florida was the first set of guys on Sunday, but it is going to be more prominent. Washington effectively has the #1 seed in the East locked up, and while I expect them to try for the President’s Trophy, I also expect some guys to be rested in their weekend back-to-back against Columbus.  Carolina is locked into their spot so we can see guys rested there.  Montreal could actually be locked into WC2 early this week, Vegas can clinch their division, etc.  There are a few days with big slates this week, so make sure you don’t have a guy in your lineup that’s scratched while you have someone healthy sitting on your bench.

Three Point Challenge:  We will do Tuesday’s games per usual.  You can’t select Kucherov, MacKinnon, Draisaitl, Eichel, McDavid, Marner, Connor, Pastrnak, Bratt, or Makar.  I’ll go with Hischier staying hot against the Bruins.

That’s all for now guys.  With things dying down, I will have another post this week, but not two.  To be honest, I’m not sure what day it will, but it will be on either Wednesday or Friday.  As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below.  Now is the time to ask anything to help win those championships.  Best of luck, thanks for reading, take care!