Where Things Almost Went Wrong on Alex Ovechkin’s Way to 895

Alex Ovechkin has been fairly consistent throughout his career, averaging about .6 goals per game. And though he just broke Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goals record, there were a few times in the past 20 seasons when his scoring went off track. These three seasons are glaring on the goal-pace-per-season chart:

The 2010-11 Season

This is the year that the Washington Capitals hired coach Dale Hunter and started trying a trap-defense style of play. This hindered Ovi’s ability to score, as he had only 32 that season, 18 fewer than the previous season. Sports Illustrated called Ovi a ‘Falling Star‘ at the time. While Ovi netted 38 the next season, his overall point total fell by 20, down to 65…