Your savory breakfast links:
- Pardon us, we’re still basking in the glow of Alex Ovechkin‘s 484th:
- Hockey doesn’t stand still for a portrait, and neither will Alex Ovechkin, whose milestone goals historically translate into increased production even as the cheers are still echoing in the arena. [Rink]
- Coach totally knew it was coming. [WaPo]
- Sergei Fedorov is so 24 hours ago – the Russian media has already moved on to measuring the Gr8 against Gretzky, Howe, and Jagr, including a handy Nine-Year Plan charting Ovi’s course to the absolute and ultimate pinnacle of NHL goal-scoring. My favorite entry is for the 2023-2024 season, in which he will “Reduce the backlog of Wayne Gretzky to 13 goals.” [Sport-Express (in Russian)]
- Russian media has a shout out for the sublime Swedish centerman Nicklas Backstrom, who has saucer’d his way into the Russian history books, twice. [Championat (in Russian)]
- An appreciation. [SB Nation]
- LeBrun/Custance/McIndoe roundtable: Is Ovechkin the greatest Russian hockey player (including goalies and d-men) ever? [ESPN]
- Related: Oh hai there Sergei Gonchar. [ESPN]
- Craig Custance had some notes on how Ovi’s game will change now that he has dispatched another milestone goal. The article is behind a paywall, but that doesn’t matter. Custance is wrong. The only part of AO8’s game that changes is the hockey media’s opinion of it. [ESPN $]
- Previews of tonight’s clash with Colorado from Vogs (plus game notes), NHL.com and Peerless, and check out our SB Nation buddies at Mile High Hockey for the other side of tonight’s match-up.
- Colorado’s “Nine Line” (#9 Matt Duchene, #29 Nathan MacKinnon, and #92 Gabriel Landeskog) can bring teh scoring. Also of note, old friend Semyon Varlamov is rehabbing a groin injury and after the morning skate we’ll learn if Reto Berra or Calvin Pickard will be in goal. [Denver Post]
- One year ago yesterday, Ovi scored a filthy, dirty, greasy, ultimate power skill goal on Berra that Reto would almost surely want back – if only he could figure how the heck it got behind him in the first place. The list of players who could score this goal is very short; it may very well have only one name on it. Prepare to be amazeballs. [FTW, Sportsnet, RMNB]
- A few leftovers from Thursday’s loss:
- Postgame notebook. [Dump-n-Chase]
- Hey Caps, you could totally be successful and cool like Dallas by paying two goalies more than $10 million for 3 more years. Obviously. [Dallas Morning News]
- For a ninth straight game, the Caps have allowed the first goal of the match. This seems sub-optimal. [WaPo]
- Rank this, Rink. [Rink]
- Consistent Braden Holtby is consistent. [Rink]
- NB19 is getting a little Selke buzz. A very little. [SI.com, BR]
- “Pardon me ref, I’m Tom Wilson, and I’m just wondering… what penalty?” [CSNMA]
- Stanislav Galiev‘s only clearly defined role on the Caps is “not-getting-claimed-off-waivers”, a role that is probably not helping his growth as a hockey player. [WaPo]
- Finally:
was going back to dub Ovi with dinosaur sounds and paused it at a precious moment pic.twitter.com/GfIZiR6ZI8
— Stephanie (@myregularface) November 20, 2015