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The Noon Number: All Grapes, No Apples

0.26Alex Ovechkin‘s assists per game rate in 2015-16, the lowest of his career (by a large margin; his previous low was 0.35, or roughly an assist every three games compared to one every four this year).

That puts him on pace for about 20 assists by the end of the season, while his current goal-scoring pace puts him on track for around 54 goals. If he ends up at or around those totals, he’ll be the fourth player in NHL history to score 50 goals and have fewer than 25 assists in a season. Maurice Richard and Danny Gare each had a 50/23 season, and Cam Neely went 50/24; Richard and Neely are both notable for hitting those marks in 50 and 49 games, respectively.

The fewest assists for a guy who had more than 50 goals in a season is a three-way tie with 26 among Peter Bondra (52 goals), Tim Keer (58) and Mickey Redmond (51). Ovechkin’s personal low for assists in a 50-goal season is 28 (twice, when he scored 51 and 53).

Of course, so long as both he and the team are producing as much as they are, this can probably be filed under the “interesting but not necessarily troubling” category.

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