No!
Simple as that. The argument overall is pretty dumb for at least a couple of reasons.
The first reason is that the NHL is not the NBA. Players in hockey don't really sit out for rest reasons. Hockey is a lot more like football than basketball. It's a tough sport, it's a very physical sport. Sitting and making your team make up for your absence isn't usually in the DNA of a hockey player. This is a much more team focused sport. "If I can go, I'm going." That's not the mentality in basketball, it is in football and hockey.
The other argument, which is kind of the same argument is, while I don't personally know Alex Ovechkin, I doubt very much that he would accept being scratched for no good reason. We're talking about a guy who rarely misses games here. Over the years I'm guessing Ovechkin could have sat thanks to an nagging injury. And he rarely, if he ever has.
Ovechkin seems like a very reasonable person. He doesn't seem to want to talk about chasing the record much. When you hear him talk in media scrums he talks about the team more than the record. He also seems sensable. Knowing that the record breaking goal should not come on an empty net goal.
He seems to get it. I don't know why he would accept sitting in the press box for no reason.
The reason people want him to is obvious. They want him to break the goal scoring record at home. It's not hard to understand why. If you watched the Capitals game vs the Blackhawks you get it. That atmosphere in Capital One Arena was amazing. To say it felt like a playoff game kind of feels wrong. It felt so much different, because it was. The scene was incredible. I understand that.
But breaking the record on the road can be amazing too.
As people, we all like being recognized. We all like having something we like being enjoyed by others. If we didn't we wouldn't ever share our favorite song, or movie or whatever. Heck, there is a thing on social media where people literally sit there and listen to songs or watch movies, and people watch that. People watch YouTube videos of people "reacting" to their favorite stuff. We like seeing other people enjoy the things we like.
That's what could happen when or if Ovechkin breaks the record on the road. Instead of it being an all out party in D.C. It will be another city applauding Washington's hero.
We just saw this the other day in Boston. Boston of all places. A city that can rival Philadelphia sometimes in their politeness. Especially when it comes to sports. It's a city that is very passionate about their teams. When Ovechkin scored he got a proper pop from the crowd. Fans were clapping when he scored. That wasn't even the record tying or breaking goal. It was just one to get him closer.
Watching other fans give your favorite player everything he deserves can be just as gratifying as watching the home fans, who have watched him for a long, long time cheer for him.
I don't think much will chage in the procedure either. I could easily be wrong here, I have no clue. But I would think, whenever this record gets broken, home or away things will probably look the same or very similar. The goal will be scored, Capitals players will charge off the bench. There will be a big celebration among the team. Then I'm assuming the game will probably be halted for a certain amount of time to do some kind of "celebration" or recognition. Gretzky might come down to the ice, shake Ovechkin's hand. I'd guess NHL commissioner Gary Bettman wouldn't be far behind.
Who knows what else would happen. Would they make a big deal of the puck? The stick? Would they force Ovechkin to change jerseys real quick and make a big deal about that one going to the hall of fame immediately? Who knows. This is a wait and see kind of thing. All I'm saying is I don't think much changes based on where the record gets broken.
There's also something to be said about doing great things on the road, then coming home with that thing. There is a legit argument that it's better to win championships on the road. That way you get the champions welcome home, you bring the trophy home. There is always those fun videos of the team getting off the plane with the trophies. It also seems to make the parade even better or even more important. It's the first time the fans get to celebrate with their new champs.
Again, look at football and the NFL. That's a league where teams never, or very rarely win championships at home. They always have to win on the road, then go home champions. Or look at the Stanley Cup. Players don't technically win the Cup at home. They win it wherever, then get the day with the Cup in their hometown. Again, kind of getting a hero's welcome home.
I'm not trying to convince you that it would be better for Ovechkin to break the record on the road. We all know it would be better and more fun to break the record at home. You're listening to a fan of the San Francisco Giants here. Barry Bonds broke the home run record at home. Against the Washington Nationals by the way, which I'm sure people remember. That was awesome. And argue about the legitimacy of that record some place, sometime other than here. That's not what we're talking about right now. I'm just saying, I get how watching a record at home is more special.
Scratching Ovechkin in road games just because you want him to break the record at home is simply dumb thinking for so many reasons. It's not what we do in this sport. The man himself probably would not accept doing it. There are plenty of reasons why breaking it on the road would be very fun as well.
Whether it happens in the next several hours against the New York Islanders, at home vs the Hurricanes or Blue Jackets, or in the season finale in Pittsburgh (wouldn't that be a sight to behold). Just enjoy it, no matter where it happens.