Today’s Noon Number: 179 – League-leading number of goals Steven Stamkos has scored since he entered the NHL at the start of the 2008-09 season, three more than second-place Alex Ovechkin has tallied. (Over that span Ovechkin has played 17 fewer games (308 to 325), has 43 more assists (193 to 150), far more shots on goal (1566 to 1053), a substantial edge in plus-minus (+69 to -5), and an edge in playoff games played (44 to 18) and series won (3 to 2).)
Ovechkin will try to catch Stamkos in goals starting tomorrow night in Tampa… where all eyes will, again, be on a pair of the League’s top gunners.