Alex Ovechkin's shot at hockey's most hallowed record is quickly fading. Why?

What happens to Ovechkin?

On December 7, Alex Ovechkin recorded his 1,500th career point with an assist during a 5–4 loss to Dallas. Ovechkin is only the 16th player in NHL history, and one of only two active players, to reach the milestone. That other player is Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby. Ovechkin and Crosby, perennial rivals since they were drafted first overall back-to-back in 2004 and 2005, have followed nearly identical point-earning routes throughout their careers, differing only in how they collected them. Crosby's playmaking earned him 966 assists and 567 goals. For Ovechkin, the point combination was always the opposite of Crosby's: 675 assists and 827 goals.

But this year, things are suddenly different.

Ovechkin, now 38, fell just 72 goals shy of Wayne Gretzky's regular-season record of 894 goals this season. But after 35 games in the regular season, that record still seems untouchable. In that time, Ovechkin managed only seven goals, two of which were on empty nets. His last, an overtime winner against Columbus on December 21 (a classic bomb from the point) was especially notable for breaking a fourteen-game goalless drought. Something is going on with Ovi, but no one knows exactly what.

In December, Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery spoke to the Washington Post seemed irritated about Ovi's scoring problems, admitting that he had tried to play Ovechkin with compatriot Evgeny Kuznetsov to create a spark, but nothing happened. Even on the power play, Ovechkin has been uncharacteristically quiet, scoring just one goal on the man advantage so far this season. Normally the power play is the most dangerous; he scored 14 of his 42 goals in one season last season. And his overall shooting percentage is just as surprising: just 6.2% compared to 14.3% last year (a figure roughly in line with the rest of his career), even though he's at his usual shooting pace. Overall, Ovi is a minus-9 this season.

The team surrounding Ovechkin may have something to do with his poor performance. For example, like the Athletics pointed out In December, the Caps' power play doesn't offer much other than the Ovechkin option for a shot from the point, which has led to more shots being expected and blocked from Ovi. Partly because of this, the Capitals have one of the worst power plays in the NHL. And as a team, the Caps are well below league average in offensive zone time, shots on goal and shooting percentage. Put it this way: Ovechkin doesn't look that bad. You could say that Ovi just looks bad compared to Ovi.

That is, unless you reconsider Crosby. While Ovechkin has struggled in Washington, Crosby, 36, has scored 21 goals and added 17 assists in Pittsburgh (registering a 16.7% shooting percentage along the way).

On Tuesday night, Ovi and Crosby faced off for the 67th time in the regular season since they both entered the NHL, with the Penguins and Capitals tied for points. Already up 3-0 to the Pens, the Caps continued on the power play with less than two minutes left in the first. With just 26 seconds left on the man advantage, Ovechkin unleashed a wrister from the point that found its way in – his eighth of the year. Crosby scored midway through the second period and picked up an assist a few minutes later, but it wasn't enough. The 4-3 victory moved the Caps to 42 points with an 18-11-6 record on the season – good enough for the second wild card spot in the East. For now, that's the record that matters.

Top cheese: try the Michigan

Just before Christmas, Connor Bedard and Trevor Zegras scored goals in their respective games by placing the puck on the toe of their sticks and lifting it into the top corner of the net, over the shoulder of the goaltender – also known as The Michigan.

The move is borrowed from lacrosse and takes its name from University of Michigan winger Mike Legg, who scored a goal with this move in 1996 against the University of Minnesota.

But Michigan's history goes back a little further. Legg first saw the move when he saw Bill Armstrong, an AHL journeyman, do it while teaching at a summer hockey school in London, Ontario. Legg was inspired and Reportedly I practiced it for months before trying it in the game that would make it famous. As for Armstrong, he managed to score four goals in his career at Michigan, including one in a game right in front of Legg's.

Bedard and Zegras aren't the first to do Michigan in the NHL. Carolina forward Andrei Svechnikov famous managed two Michigan-style goals during the 2019-2020 season, and Nashville's Filip Forsberg I got one too the same year. And Zegras's Michigan on Dec. 23 was his second of his NHL career; him too scored one against Montreal in early 2022.

Yet two on the same evening is indeed special. But maybe we should have seen it coming.

Cup Chase

As December began, the Arizona Coyotes defeated the Washington Capitals 6–0, and with the victory they became the first team in NHL history to win consecutive games against five previous Stanley Cup winners. Before beating the Caps, who won the Cup in 2018, the 'Yotes defeated the Golden Knights (2023), the Lightning (2020 and 2021), the Avalanche (2022) and the Blues (2019). Arizona followed that streak with four straight losses, but finished the month at .500 and occupied one Western wild card spot. Meanwhile, Vancouver and Winnipeg, atop the West, finished 2023 in good form, both going 7-1-2 in their final 10 games of the year. And then there's Edmonton, seemingly on the road to recovery, which reeled off six straight wins to close out December.

In the Atlantic division, a familiar story is unfolding as Toronto battles two Florida teams to retain a playoff spot. More interesting is the Metro Division, where the Flyers' strong December has kept them in the race, just ahead of the Islanders, who are still outscoring and in hot water with Carolina. And after a rough start, the Devils are starting to climb back into it, with the Penguins also seemingly starting to find their footing.

Bottom dwellers

Thanks in large part to Bedard, the Chicago Blackhawks are one of the most entertainingly bad teams in recent memory. Chicago is one of the bottom three teams in the NHL depending on the day, but doesn't tell their fans this. The team plays in front of a nearly sold-out home crowd every night at the United Center. According to data, an average of just over 18,800 people watched each Blackhawks home game this season compiled by HockeyDB, which translates to 95% capacity.

Unsurprisingly, teams like the San Jose Sharks – who, after a few successful games in early December, largely returned to their poor form to close out 2023 – and the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have just 11 wins, are struggling to to play equally. home crowd. However, one of the teams that can't fill the building is Winnipeg. The Jets are only using about 83% of capacity at home games, or just over 12,700 per night – a problem attributed partly due to pricing.

Around the hockey world

Pittsburgh When Pittsburgh native Logan Cooley was five years old, he stepped onto the ice with Sidney Crosby. Cooley was one of the first kids in town to take advantage of the Little Penguins program, created by Crosby, which outfitted hundreds of youngsters from head to toe in hockey equipment and allowed a handful of on-ice sessions with the Pens' captain. In mid-December, Cooley, now a 19-year-old center for the Coyotes, took the opener against the man partially responsible for his hockey career.

Chicago As impressive as his goal at Michigan was, it doesn't detract from Connor Bedard's overall stats compared to his fellow rookies. Bedard is without a doubt the best rookie this season. He leads his peers in total points (32), goals (15) and assists (17). He has also had 110 shots, 21 more than the next most productive rookie shooter, Adam Fantilli. Even compared to the entire league, Bedard stands out. In 5v5 situations, Bedard has 13 goals this season, tied with Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov and ahead of Sidney Crosby. Only two players, Zach Hyman and overall scoring leader Auston Matthews, have more with 14 each.

Toronto The professional women's hockey league launched on New Year's Day with the first game in Toronto, in which New York upset the home team in front of a sold-out crowd. Ella Shelton scored the league's first-ever goal en route to the 4-0 shutout of New York.

The next game on the 72-game regular season schedule is Montreal against Ottawa on Friday, where more than 7,800 spectators are expected – another early hopeful sign that this iteration of a professional women's league will be here to stay.