Alex Ovechkin
I guess it shouldn’t be shocking to see this guys name pop up in a “players to watch for” list. Ovechkin finished the season with 48 goals scored in 69 games played. Had the season been finished properly he was easily on his way to another fifty goal season which would have been his ninth time he would have hit that mark. Only two men in the history of the NHL have done that, Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky. I have to be honest, I never watched them play live, but I hear they were pretty good.
This season against the Hurricanes Ovechkin led the team in goals scored (3) and points scored (4, tied with Carlson for the lead). His advanced stats don’t look too great, but when you put up points and goals like Ovechkin it seems to hardly matter. This season vs Carolina Ovechkin had just a 39.3 Corsi percentage.
He might not need to have great advanced numbers, when Ovechkin plays the Hurricanes, he scores and contributes. In 81 career games played against the Canes he has 95 points and 43 goals. He scores over a point per game vs Carolina in his career and basically scores every other game.
It will be fun to see and watch our favorite players on the ice again. Ovechkin is obviously one of our favorites. Be sure to watch for him in the first game back. After that first game, we move on to Tampa Bay.