27 – Number of days remaining until the Caps open the 2014-15 season. But it’s also…
…the number of goals scored at even strength by Alex Ovechkin in 2013-14, over half of his total for the season. Only Max Pacioretty and Jamie Benn (both 28), Phil Kessel (29) and Corey Perry (35) had more even-strength tallies than Ovechkin, and only 38 players in the NHL had as many or more goals total.
It also accounted for the second-lowest percentage of total goals he’s scored in a single season at just under 53%, beating out last year’s even 50%. Here’s a look at even-strength vs. total goals in his career:
| Season | G | ESG | % of Total |
| 2013-14 | 51 | 27 | 52.94 |
| 2012-13 | 32 | 16 | 50.00 |
| 2011-12 | 38 | 25 | 65.79 |
| 2010-11 | 32 | 25 | 78.13 |
| 2009-10 | 50 | 37 | 74.00 |
| 2008-09 | 56 | 36 | 64.29 |
| 2007-08 | 65 | 43 | 66.15 |
| 2006-07 | 46 | 30 | 65.22 |
| 2005-06 | 52 | 28 | 53.85 |
Of course, that Ovechkin managed to score so many goals at evens while still racking up a plus-minus of -35 is pretty impressive… and a reminder that not only is plus-minus a pretty flawed stat, but other people occasionally need to score, too.