Don Cherry Rips Alex Ovechkin

[metallicatz]

Please. If Crosby or Malkin shot the puck 475 times they'd have alot more goals too. In fact, their shooting % proves it. Do the math if you wish. The numbers are right there. If you double Crosby's current shot total it would put him at 416, and using his current shooting % he'd be at 56 goals (5 more goals than Ovechkin on 59 less shots). How about Malkin? If you put his shot toals at Ovechkin's and use his current shooting % he comes in at 58 goals.

It's not about what's "easier" to do. Go ask Gretzky and Lemieux how important it is to not only have teammates good at setting up the play, but also BEING the good teammate to set up the play. Without the assist there is usually no goal. Let's see Ovechkin score those goals without his teammates getting the puck around the defense and cycling it his way. Hockey is not a 1 man game. It's his teammates that help create the scoring chance. That's how team sports work.

[tyler289]

Quote: Originally Posted by metallicatz

Please. If Crosby or Malkin shot the puck 475 times they'd have alot more goals too. In fact, their shooting % proves it. Do the math if you wish. The numbers are right there. It's not about what's "easier" to do. Go ask Gretzky and Lemieux how important it is to not only have teammates good at setting up the play, but also BEING the good teammate to set up the play. Without the assist there is usually no goal. Let's see Ovechkin score those goals without his teammates getting the puck around the defense and cycling it his way. Hockey is not a 1 man game. It's his teammates that help create the scoring chance. That's how team sports work.

You continue to make it obvious that you don't watch the Caps with any regularity. It's obviously important to have good teammates, but Ovechkin sets up his scoring chances on his own most of the time. It's not like he just sits there and waits for the puck. A lot of his goals just consist of him skating it in and firing it on net - his shot is just that good.

I just find it completely laughable to say Ovechkin isn't a good teammate because he shoots the puck more than anyone. What a joke.

And getting assists IS easier. There are 2 assists per 1 goal. You can get an assist by just passing the puck at your own blue line and your teammate deking out everyone. Obviously setting up teammates is tough to do and important, but getting 50 or 60 goals is a lot harder to do that get 70 assists. There's a reason there's no award for highest assist stat.

[metallicatz]

It's clear you don't play hockey. And the award for the highest goal scorer (Rocket Richard Trophy) wasn't even brought about until the 1998-99 season.

The numbers I just posted speak for themselves. Not my problem if they don't work out in your argument's favor.

[tyler289]

Quote: Originally Posted by metallicatz

It's clear you don't play hockey. And the award for the highest goals scorer wasn't even brought about until the 1998-99 season. The numbers I just posted speak for themselves. Not my problem if they don't work out in your argument's favor.

I played hockey for 8 years. Scoring a goal is harder than getting an assist. Ask anyone and they'll agree with me. You need an assist for a goal (usually), so both are obviously important, but there are TWO assists given out for a goal (usually). A hat trick is a celebrated event, but no one does anything for a 3-assist game (not to mention you see 3-assist games a lot more than 3-goal games).

Ovechkin is the most dynamic player in the league and the best scorer in the league. Crosby and Malkin are the two best playmakers in the league. I don't give a **** about shot totals or shooting percentage. Ovechkin takes lots of shots because he has lots of shooting opportunities. You can't score if you don't shoot.

[metallicatz]

I'm not concerned with what "anyone" has to say. I'm concerned with the facts. Numbers, are fact. And they speak for themselves. Both Malkin and Crosby have a higher shooting % and simple common sense dictates that if they shoot as much as Ovechkin does, they score just as much (the numbers indicate they'd score more, in fact).

I've never disputed that scoring a goal is harder than recording an asssts. However, it's more important for a line to be successful than it is one player. And that's where the plus/minus stat comes in. It's not a player specific stat, but it's specific of how well a given line performs when that player is on the ice.

You can't score if you don't shoot, and you can't shoot if you don't have the puck. That's where his teammates come in. Ovechkin isn't skating end to end on all these goals. And if he was involving his linemates nearly as much as you claim he'd be smoking both Crosby and Malkin in the points race because he'd be racking up assists along with all those goals.

[Ewing]

Quote: Originally Posted by metallicatz

Niether wll Ovechkin.

Yeah, I mean just look at all the Ovechkin supporters on here and in the media comparing to Gretzky. Oh wait, there aren't any.

[Pink Mist]

Kyle Wellwood has a shooting percentage of 20.5 and once had a shooting percentage of about 36% at one time this season.

Does that make him the best player in the league?

Shooting percentage is what batting average is in baseball. A player could have a BA of .240 but could have 40 homeruns.

[slickdtc]

Quote:

I'm not concerned with what "anyone" has to say. I'm concerned with the facts. Numbers, are fact. And they speak for themselves. Both Malkin and Crosby have a higher shooting % and simple common sense dictates that if they shoot as much as Ovechkin does, they score just as much (the numbers indicate they'd score more, in fact).

But they would also have to stay at their current pace while also shooting a ton more too. I have a feeling that shooting percentage would go down as they started launching more shots.

The question is, is Ovechkin better at assisting on goals then Crosby/Malkin is at scoring goals? I don't know.