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toby91_ca

What's Going on With Ovechkin?

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Then here's my question- why doesn't the Caps' coach put Semin and Ovetchkin on the same line and see if he can pull off a Babcock? Remember when Dats and Z were feeling slumpy? :P

He does, but only the last 10 minutes of the game when they're losing or the score is tied. I agree though, he should just put them together on one line for the entire game and see how it goes. Maybe he has a problem because both of them are left wings? Or maybe he doesn't trust an all-russian line out there, those damn commies :P

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Then here's my question- why doesn't the Caps' coach put Semin and Ovetchkin on the same line and see if he can pull off a Babcock? Remember when Dats and Z were feeling slumpy? :P

Same reason the Pens do not put Crosby and Malkin on the same line. And as good as Malkin is, at 2nd in scoring on the team, he's still 28pts behind Crosby.

However, the Pens are currently in a different position in the standings, so maybe the Caps having nothing to lose by playing those two guys on the same line, it's worth the gamble I think.

I wish i was "cursed" like that every year.

He is going through a slump though, thats 4 games without a point (longest of his career?)

Yes, it is the longest of his career and the second longest (3 games) only happened a couple weeks ago.

The longest he went last year without a point is 2 games.

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Same reason the Pens do not put Crosby and Malkin on the same line. And as good as Malkin is, at 2nd in scoring on the team, he's still 28pts behind Crosby.

However, the Pens are currently in a different position in the standings, so maybe the Caps having nothing to lose by playing those two guys on the same line, it's worth the gamble I think.

Yes, it is the longest of his career and the second longest (3 games) only happened a couple weeks ago.

The longest he went last year without a point is 2 games.

Actually, Malkin was playing on Crosby's LW all season long until about 2 weeks ago.

But you're right in the regard that the reason they don't put A.O. and Semin on the same line is because they both like to carry the puck, dangle and shoot. Having two shooters on one line isn't always the best idea. Crosby and Malkin work well together because they both think pass before shoot but at the same time both like carrying the puck the majority of the time.

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Well, he may or may not have a bad team, but the game's best players, with the exception of Gretzky, put up huge numbers on bad teams while making their teammates better. Yzerman did it early in his career. Lemieux did it regularly until the 90s. Sakic had great numbers before they became a powerhouse.

Crosby is doing it now. Some will say he has a better team. Maybe, maybe not. Malkin is a great player, but they don't play together but on the PP or late in the game if they need a quick goal. Staal never plays with Sid, rarely even on the power play. Sid has Ryan Malone and Recchi. If those two could catch a pass, or convert on a pass they actually did catch, Crosby would have 100 assists right now. Well, that's exagerating, but if really did have a goal scoring winger (in his prime, not Recchi) they would be a very tough line to match against.

Far as Ovechkin goes, being that he is more of a goal scorer than playmaker, he will struggle a bit if teams are really playing good against him. If anything, I'd say his team is better this year than last year. Semin is one heck of a player. And they switch it up to, like the Pens. You can see the two of them together or on separate lines, and obviously the power play.

Crosby is more of a play maker so when he slumps it's usually a goal scoring slump. Like someone said, 13pts in 10 games is one of his worst streaks. That's still over a point a game.

I wouldn't worry, I like Alex and he is a great player and he'll break out of it. Next year the Caps should be better. They will bring that kid they drafted this last draft who is from Swedin, Finland, or wherever it was. From what I heard he is the real deal too. So with him, Alex, and Semin, the Caps will look better. Also, there is a good chance the Caps will have a first, second, or third pick overall. What they need is a goalie. Kolzig won't be around when the Caps finally have a dominant team. The Pens fired Craig Patrick, but he found the right guys for the future. Crosby, Malkin, Staal for the forward core, Whitney and Letang for the future of their D and Fleury as their goalie. It's starting to pay off.

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Actually, Malkin was playing on Crosby's LW all season long until about 2 weeks ago.

Actually, no, unless you consider his first 3-4 games all season long, I would have to say that you are wrong.

They occasionally play together on the power play (occasionally) and very sparingly are put together late in the 3rd period if they are down a goal and are really pushing to score.

Not sure why you think they have played on the same line pretty much all season.

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Actually, no, unless you consider his first 3-4 games all season long, I would have to say that you are wrong.

They occasionally play together on the power play (occasionally) and very sparingly are put together late in the 3rd period if they are down a goal and are really pushing to score.

Not sure why you think they have played on the same line pretty much all season.

That's odd. I have the Centre Ice Package and have watched over 30 of their games. Up until the middle of January I saw Malkin as Crosby's LW. Only in the last few weeks has Malkin switched back to centre, centering a line with Staal on the LW and Armstrong on the RW.

EDIT: I just did a google search and it was noted on October 24th when the Pens put Malkin on his wing. The boxscore was:

1ST PERIOD NJD PIT

7:40 Scott Gomez

Assists: Brian Gionta, Brad Lukowich 1 0

13:37 Nils Ekman

Assists: Mark Eaton 1 1

2ND PERIOD NJD PIT

1:26 Sidney Crosby

Assists: Evgeni Malkin, Ryan Whitney 1 2

4:53 Jordan Staal

Assists: Nils Ekman, Mark Recchi 1 3

3RD PERIOD NJD PIT

8:02 Sergei Brylin

Assists: Jim Fahey, Patrik Elias 2 3

10:41 Evgeni Malkin

Assists: Sidney Crosby, Ryan Whitney 2 4

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=261024016

This is only one game I know, but if you check www.tsn.ca and look for the Pens schedule and results you will see that Crosby and Malkin hooked up for several EVEN STRENGTH goals until about late January.

In fact, TSN even has Malkin listed as a C/LW because of where he's played the majority of the year. TSN's usually spot on with where a player is currently playing.

Edited by Hank

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That's odd. I have the Centre Ice Package and have watched over 30 of their games. Up until the middle of January I saw Malkin as Crosby's LW. Only in the last few weeks has Malkin switched back to centre, centering a line with Staal on the LW and Armstrong on the RW.

Your eyes are deceiving you then. I have watched almost all of their games.

Also, if you don't believe that, had they been playing on the same line all year, you would think that Malkin would have assisted on more than just 6 of Crosby's 26 goals.

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Your eyes are deceiving you then. I have watched almost all of their games.

Also, if you don't believe that, had they been playing on the same line all year, you would think that Malkin would have assisted on more than just 6 of Crosby's 26 goals.

I'm assuming you mean Even Strength goals. Considering that Crosby has 18 ES goals that means Malkin has assisted on 33% of his ES goals. Not bad for a rookie.

Here's two more articles where they discuss how the two have been put together mostly this season:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06297/732432-61.stm

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburgh...s/s_493425.html

TSN also had a peice a couple nights ago about which line in the NHL has been the hottest. The line of Malkin/Crosby/Recchi was 2nd to only Dats/Zetts/Homer.

Sure, Malkin has taken some time as centre of the 2nd or 3rd line but Malkin has played the majority of this season on Crosby's LW.

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I'm assuming you mean Even Strength goals. Considering that Crosby has 18 ES goals that means Malkin has assisted on 33% of his ES goals. Not bad for a rookie.

No, I meant total goals. Between October 28th and now, Malkin has assisted on 2 even strength Crosby goals.

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No, I meant total goals. Between October 28th and now, Malkin has assisted on 2 even strength Crosby goals.

Can you provide a link to this info?

Check out the boxscores for Pittsburghs games on October 24th and 28th. In those games Malkin assisted on 2 ES Crosby goals. Are you telling me that he hasn't assisted on one other ES Crosby goal since before Halloween?

How much money would you like to bet?

And can I also ask who was his LW while Malone was out with a broken arm (out for 18 games)?

Edited by Hank

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Here's two more articles where they discuss how the two have been put together mostly this season:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/06297/732432-61.stm

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburgh...s/s_493425.html

You might want to actually read the articles, one is from October and here are excerpts from the other:

And when Therrien began playing them together in the third period, after a 3-1 lead had degenerated into a 3-3 stalemate, the pair really got airborne.

Malkin will be back between Jordan Staal and Michel Ouellet, and Crosby with Mark Recchi and Ryan Malone tonight when the Penguins visit the New Jersey Devils.

Crosby and Malkin were regular linemates briefly this season but eventually separated in the interest of creating a more balanced attack.

The two never practice on the same line.

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You might want to actually read the articles, one is from October and here are excerpts from the other:

And when Therrien began playing them together in the third period, after a 3-1 lead had degenerated into a 3-3 stalemate, the pair really got airborne.

Malkin will be back between Jordan Staal and Michel Ouellet, and Crosby with Mark Recchi and Ryan Malone tonight when the Penguins visit the New Jersey Devils.

Crosby and Malkin were regular linemates briefly this season but eventually separated in the interest of creating a more balanced attack.

The two never practice on the same line.

That's funny. Because the majority of games I watch they're together. And you seriously should check your facts about Malkin assisting on only 2 ES Crosby goals. Besides the October 24th and 28th games I randomly picked another game, November 20th agains the Flyers. Malkin assisted on another Crosby ES goal. I guess your sources are bunk.

Edit: Regarding this article:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburgh...s/s_493425.html

It was a bad choice to make as this writer doesn't know a lot about hockey. The fact still remains, and boxscores prove it, that Malkin and Crosby have played the majority of the season on the same line. I know because I've watched the majority of their games.

Edited by Hank

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Can you provide a link to this info?

Check out the boxscores for Pittsburghs games on October 24th and 28th. In those games Malkin assisted on 2 ES Crosby goals. Are you telling me that he hasn't assisted on one other ES Crosby goal since before Halloween?

How much money would you like to bet?

There is no link, go check all the box scores.

I said that he has assisted on 2 ES goals since October 28th. That adds to the 2 that he assisted on up to that point in time.

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There is no link, go check all the box scores.

I said that he has assisted on 2 ES goals since October 28th. That adds to the 2 that he assisted on up to that point in time.

I just checked and while I didn't check all the way to today's date Malkin had at least 3 ES assists on Crosby goals since October 28th - Nov 20th, Dec 11th and Jan 2nd.

And while it does seem that the two stopped playing a lot together by mid December there's no denying that the two played a lot of ES time with one another. Which gets us back to the original subject of Ovechkin. Even if Crosby only played 20 games with Malkin as his LW, that's still 20 more games with a quality winger compared to what A.O. has played with.

I'm not dissing on Crosby's talent at all as I think this kid is already the best offensive player in the NHL right now and, pending injury's, could go down as one of the best 5 players all the time. But A.O. would undoubtebly have way more points than he does now if he's on any other team in the league. Even on Philly he'd have Forsberg to play with for a good part of the season. Zubrus and Clark are 3rd line forwards.

Edited by Hank

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I just checked and while I didn't check all the way to today's date Malkin had at least 3 ES assists on Crosby goals since October 28th - Nov 20th, Dec 11th and Jan 2nd.

And while it does seem that the two stopped playing a lot together by mid December there's no denying that the two played a lot of ES time with one another. Which gets us back to the original subject of Ovechkin. Even if Crosby only played 20 games with Malkin as his LW, that's still 20 more games with a quality winger compared to what A.O. has played with.

I'm not dissing on Crosby's talent as all as I think this kid is already the best offensive player in the NHL right now but, pending injury's, could go down as one of the best 5 players all the time. But A.O. would undoubtebly have way more points than he does now if he's on any other team in the league. Even on Philly he'd have Forsberg to play with for a good part of the season. Zubrus and Clark are 3rd line forwards.

I missed the November 20th goal. He's only assisted on one of Crosby's goals since the January 2nd game and that was on January 20th, on the powerplay.

If I had to guess on the number of games that Crosby and Malkin actually played on the same line for the full game, I'd put it between 10-15.

Zubrus is not a 3rd liner, he's a pretty good player. Actually, a lot of Pens fans are suggested that they trade for him to put on Crosby's line.

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I missed the November 20th goal. He's only assisted on one of Crosby's goals since the January 2nd game and that was on January 20th, on the powerplay.

If I had to guess on the number of games that Crosby and Malkin actually played on the same line for the full game, I'd put it between 10-15.

Zubrus is not a 3rd liner, he's a pretty good player. Actually, a lot of Pens fans are suggested that they trade for him to put on Crosby's line.

Zubrus isn't a bad player as long as he has the right linemates. When he was with Leclair and Lindros he flourished. I still think he's a much better winger than centre and if he was put with Crosby and Recchi/Malone he would probably do really well. But he's not talented enough to carry a line on his own and I don't think his style fits Ovechkin's that much. A.O. needs a centre more like Marc Savard - a great passer that gets rid of the puck as soon as he gets it.

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I have the Center Ice too and watch every Pens game also.

When Malkin first came to the Pens, he missed some games because of his injury, he was paired with Sid when he had that 6 or 7 game goal scoring streak to begin his career. Not to long after that, they were split up to create depth.

I remember most of the season bothered by this, because my gf being a Tampa Bay fan gets to see her two favorite players, Lecavalier and St. Louis play together on the same line, where my Pens split up Malkin and Crosby most of the season.

And yes it is no secret. The two never practice together. And they tend to only get paired when they are down a goal. The coach said many times he split them up to give more balance to the lines. When they were paired together they played very well, but I'll agree, the other lines seemed lacking. And the Pens have 23 games left or so and you can bet you won't find them on the same line again, unless it's for a quick goal late in the game because Malkin and Staal now have such great chemistry together and are playing very well.

In the meantime, Crosby is stuck with a old Recchi, who isnt' playing all that bad, and a Ryan Malone who should not be a first line player on ANY NHL team. They finally learned Colby wasn't a first line player too.

So yeah, Crosby and Malkin will appear on the boxsheets together, especially in October and early November. And they went a while not being on the same line, then they were put on the same line for a game or two in December, but after that, that was pretty much it.

None of us are pro's, and can't speak for any pro's, but if I were Sid, I'd take either of Ovechkin's linemates over Malone.

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That's odd. I have the Centre Ice Package and have watched over 30 of their games. Up until the middle of January I saw Malkin as Crosby's LW. Only in the last few weeks has Malkin switched back to centre, centering a line with Staal on the LW and Armstrong on the RW.

EDIT: I just did a google search and it was noted on October 24th when the Pens put Malkin on his wing. The boxscore was:

1ST PERIOD NJD PIT

7:40 Scott Gomez

Assists: Brian Gionta, Brad Lukowich 1 0

13:37 Nils Ekman

Assists: Mark Eaton 1 1

2ND PERIOD NJD PIT

1:26 Sidney Crosby

Assists: Evgeni Malkin, Ryan Whitney 1 2

4:53 Jordan Staal

Assists: Nils Ekman, Mark Recchi 1 3

3RD PERIOD NJD PIT

8:02 Sergei Brylin

Assists: Jim Fahey, Patrik Elias 2 3

10:41 Evgeni Malkin

Assists: Sidney Crosby, Ryan Whitney 2 4

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=261024016

This is only one game I know, but if you check www.tsn.ca and look for the Pens schedule and results you will see that Crosby and Malkin hooked up for several EVEN STRENGTH goals until about late January.

In fact, TSN even has Malkin listed as a C/LW because of where he's played the majority of the year. TSN's usually spot on with where a player is currently playing.

Yeah Malkins LW with Crosby on the PP

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http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20062007/SC020373.HTM

Look up the shift charts if you guys want to accurately fight about this stuff. Yes, they played together on the same line ES earlier in the year, but by December, this wasn't the case. They almost always play on the powerplay together, although sometimes after a long shift for Crosby or Malkin they'll split them up.

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