Abel to Yzerman
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Shutting Down AO
by IwoCPO on 12/17/07 at 05:38 AM ET
Comments (13)
When Alexander Ovechkin leaves Joe Louis Arena this evening without a point he shouldn’t fret. Because it’s almost Christmas the holiday season? No. Because Pepe Lopez Tequila is sold in the greater DC area? A good reason, but not what I’m talking about here.
AO, after the Wings shut him down tonite, should feel snuggly and warm in the knowledge that he’s not alone.
Superstars don’t fare well against Nick Lidstrom’s Wings.
While many of you thought I spent most of yesterday in the fetal position, sucking my thumb and humming The Waltons theme song to myself, I was actually doing what I’ve become famous for: statistical research.
What kind of research? Thank you for asking. This kind.
Over the course of the last two regular seasons and last year’s playoff run, the Wings have played 33 games against teams featuring one of the league’s “elite” players: Lecavalier, Iginla, Thornton, Modano, Sakic, Jagr, Alfredsson, Sundin or Crosby. Their cumulative production?
22 points. Of those 22 points? 5 goals. 4 of those 22 points went to Thornton last January 4th in the infamous 9 goal disaster at the Shark Tank. All of those were assists.
Modano scored twice in one game last fall. Iginla twice in the playoffs last year. Sakic once last December. Sundin, Alfredsson, Crosby, Thornton, Lecavalier, Jagr: zero goals. And in the case of the five from Eastern Conference? Just 1 assist for Sundin.
And those are all guys with decent to very good supporting casts, other lines Mike Babcock has to worry about.
Tonite? It’s AO and nobody else. He’s going to see a lot of Lidstrom and plenty of Zetterberg. Lidstrom, not surprisingly, has the highest Quality of Competition rating at Behind the Net, with Zetterberg a close second. Kris Draper, who won’t be playing tonite, is up there but a good distance behind those two.
Oh, and I wonder if Pavel Datsyuk will hear anything from his teammates today about the league’s “best Russian player” coming to town?
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Comments
The Caps don’t have a great history with the Versus games. I’m not expecting a win, but a point from Ovie would be nice (just to prove you wrong) 
Posted by DC Sports Chick on 12/17/07 at 07:51 AM ET
I’m just looking forward to the game, OV is a pretty amazing player.
Sadly, I’ll be wrapped up for a couple hours and will miss probably the first 2 periods.
Sadness.
Posted by TeamDub from The gratch. on 12/17/07 at 08:34 AM ET
Dear Babs:
Shut down that Ovechkin guy and you’ll have the game in the bag.
Later much…
JT
Tamba Bay, FL
Posted by John T. from Tampa Bay, FL on 12/17/07 at 11:29 AM ET
Danger! Danger, Will Robinson!
Have we learned nothing from an overconfident Wings team facing a clearly inferior opponent this season?
No, the Wings need fear. They need to tremble before Ovechkin, Nylander, and whatever beer-leaguer the Caps find to round out their top line. They must feel a Broad Street Bullies type of bowel-clearing terror when going up against the checking line that is Laing and Steckel and that other guy. Kolzig needs to loom as large as Vladislav Tretiak, and Z and Dats need to feel like leaders of a District 5 team before Emilio Estevez comes to save the day.
I’m just sayin.
The Caps are coming, and they’re not gonna stop the hurt until we give them our lunch money.
Posted by Gabriel from San Diego, CA on 12/17/07 at 12:24 PM ET
Daing Gabriel! I guess Tequila posts bring out your best.
Kolzig needs to loom as large as Vladislav Tretiak, and Z and Dats need to feel like leaders of a District 5 team before Emilio Estevez comes to save the day.
A Tretiak reference in the same sentence as the first Mighty Duck––deserving of an Oscar––movie! I bow before thy sentence shaping greatness.
The game: I agree that a healthy shots of fear should be passed around like so many needles in baseball. Can Ovie break out at any point? Certainly. More worrisome to me is Alexander Semin who lurks in OV’s shadow and is a great talent. I think he had a similar season to Vanek of the Sabers last year. 40/40/80. Or something like that.
Baroque: A hat trick would be ideal. Adding a couple of steals and those no look passes would demonstrate the whole Datsyuk show we have come to know and love.
Posted by srt on 12/17/07 at 01:14 PM ET
Gotta agree with Gabriel on this one. Danger abounds. Anybody confirmed who is in goal for the Wings tonite...."Tickin" or his backup?
Posted by Rumbear from Sandy Eggo on 12/17/07 at 01:20 PM ET
I’m going with 4-2 Wings. Ovechkin with both goals. Yes, like any Wings fan, I am a little scared any time the Wings play a team near the bottom of the league, but they did that the other night and won 5-2. And they had to put 2 in their own net just to get it that close. And they were missing Homer. And they only played to about 75% of their ability, considering the number of shots they surrendered.
Posted by Nathan on 12/17/07 at 01:39 PM ET
srt: Semin has been a disappointment this year, most likely due to an ankle sprain (it also appears he tried to come back too early and re-injured it). I know this because he was my secret fantasy team weapon last year, and I recently had to drop him from my team due to his inability to give me any reason not to dump him (picked up Ribiero in the deal; who woulda thunk he would be kicking ass this year?) He is an explosive player, but he hasn’t found his form yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts ripping it up later this season--ankle injuries are a nuisance.
This Green kid they drafted with the 1st rounder we gave them for Lang is fun to watch. He’s a fast, ballsy offensive defenseman who likes to join the rush (anyone see his overtime winner last week?). He’s like Lebda, if Lebda had top 4 potential.
Posted by PDXWing from Portland, OR on 12/17/07 at 01:43 PM ET
Looks like the Caps have been practicing with a new goalie.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119143109983647814.html?fatty
Posted by Aaron from Phoenix on 12/17/07 at 02:49 PM ET
AO is coming to the Joe. Just hoping for a better effort from the Caps then the Bolts did when they came in a few weeks ago. I was looking so forward to that game and it was flat.
I love to watch AO play. It will be fun to see how the Wings respond (she said hopefully).
Posted by hockeychic from Denver, CO on 12/17/07 at 04:22 PM ET
Alas TD, I’m probably going to miss tonites action due to the Freshman’s basketball contest. I thought I might TIVO, but there is no need. According to the amazing 15 y/o prognisticator, Wings 4, Caps 1. A the G gets only an assist.
Baroque: If Dat ever hopes to get a trick, he is going to haveta learn to pump the puck at the net a whole lot more—like Z and A the G. Don’t get me wrong, I’d love to see it. He just isn’t shooting enough for a three bagger. Apparently Uncle Mikes Yoda syntax doesn’t translate too well into Russian.
Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Hockey Netherworld on 12/17/07 at 04:56 PM ET
Well, your wrong about one thing....ovechkin has goal! Though i dont think caps can keep up this pace for another 40 min...i can hope though!
Posted by CapsFanatic08 on 12/17/07 at 07:40 PM ET
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I want to see a Pavel Datsyuk hat trick so much in this game.
It would be perfect - the versus people won’t know how to deal with a situation that doesn’t fit into their pre-approved plotline.
Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 12/17/07 at 07:00 AM ET