There is no question I would not want to be facing the Washington Capitals in the first round of the playoffs. They are coming in with tremendous momentum and Ovechkin is destroying team records as he carries the Caps into the postseason. He will likely make Bruce Boudreau coach of the year. Talk about being in the right place at the right time.
When Ovechkin hit the magic 60-goal mark on March 21, he became only the 38th player to do so in league history. Until this season, however, every 60-goal campaign had come in a season that averaged at least 6.13 goals a game. The NHL has averaged 5.45 goals scored a game this season, which means 2007-08 is set to become the sixth-lowest-scoring season in the past 50 years.
Gretzky's 92-goal campaign in 1981-82, for instance, came in a year when goal scoring reached an all-time high, 8.03 goals a game. Comparing the two vastly different eras is difficult, but Gretzky's season, percentage-wise, converts to 64 goals in 82 games by today's standards. That's how good Ovechkin is.
So tell me which team you would want to avoid in postseason? Poll is on the sidebar.
12 years ago
