Ovechkin Chasing History

Scoring a goal in the National Hockey League is a tough thing to be able to do. It's the best hockey league in the world for a reason. Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals has been doing this for quite some time now. For fifteen years now, Ovechkin has been a major threat in this game, and he's close to reaching a pretty big milestone.

Including this year, Ovechkin has lead the league in goals nine times, as he's leading the league (at the time of this writing) with 40 goals. He now sits at 698 goals, following last night's natural hat trick against the Kings in a 4-2 win. The goals place him 8th on the NHL's all time goals list, just two shy of cracking 700 career. The only other guys in the history of the league to crack 700 goals are Wayne Gretzky (894), Gordie Howe (801), Jaromir Jagr (766), Brett Hull (741), Marcel Dionne (731), Phil Esposito (717) and Mike Gartner (708).

How does Ovie keep doing this? He has the trait possessed by all great goal scorers. He goes after any and every puck. He wants the puck on his stick at all times Ovie at times can do things with the puck on his stick that were really reserved for mostly video games. Best way to describe Ovie when it comes to chasing after a loose puck is he's like a shark that smells blood in the water. And one of his greatest gifts is that he's been healthy and consistent throughout most of his career.

And Ovie is kid of a bit of a throwback to the likes of Cam Neely a little in that he likes to play physical. He's different from a guy like Neely in that he's not as physical and is a better scorer then Cam, he'/s built in the same mold in my mind. He's got size and the physical game to him, but he's better known for his scoring touch.

It really is amazing to sit here and think that he's going to become just the 8th player in history to reach 700 goals in the NHL. Leave him room at the top of the faceoff circle and the puck is anywhere near him, he's going to find a way to put the puck in the back of the net. And he's been coming on as of late this year too. Looked like he got off to a slow start, but he's found his scoring touch. Not only will he eclipse the 700 goal mark, but he shouldn't have a problem hitting the 50 goal mark this year either.

Every so often an athlete comes along that leaves us in awe and wanting more. Alex Ovechkin is that athlete right now and its been a lot of fun getting to watch him play the last fifteen years.