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Alex Ovechkin, Greatest Ever!
By Shlomo Maital
Greatest of all time – GOAT – is a really hard title to earn. NHL great Wayne Gretzky earned it by scoring a phenomenal 894 goals in his career. Gretzky was born and raised in Brantford, Ontario, Canada. He has become controversial, long into retirement, by supporting Trump – anathema to Canadians (I am Canadian-born and also revile this evil man). The only other players to score more than 800 lifetime goals are Gordie Howe—and Alex Mikhailovich Ovechkin. Howe was Canadian, born in Floral, Saskatchewan, not far from my own home town Milestone. His sons, too, especially Marty, were stars. Gordie was a big strapping farm boy who retired finally with the Hartford Whalers – at age 52!!
And Ovechkin? He will turn 40 on September 17. And he has so far scored an astonishing 888 goals. So he is only 7 away from Gretzky’s all-time record. Chances are he will break it this season. He hangs out on the left wing, waits for a pass – and blasts his incredible slapshot past goalies. He has slowed down a lot in recent years, but his hockey savvy is unparalleled.
Ovechkin began his career in Russia with Dynamo Moscow, and was chosen by Washington Capitals in the 2004 NHL draft. He starred in his rookie year, 2005-6, and this year has led a once moribund team into the playoffs. Ovechkin has the record for the most NHL seasons with 40 or more goals – 13! And the most 50 goal campaigns, with 9.
Hockey is a fierce, brutal contact sport. Playing at a high level at age 40 is an outstanding achievement. Ovechkin has 35 goals this season, fourth highest. Here is how the AP described his key goal against the Philadelphia Flyers:
“Confetti flew and Big Joe Turner’s “Shake, Rattle & Roll” blared from speakers as mascot Slapshot flipped the goal counter in a corner of the arena from 887 to 888. Fans chanted “Ovi! Ovi!” as play resumed. “Every time he scores, the crowd gets 10 times more involved and it just kind of blows up, and whatever happens after, they’re still always cheering,” winger Andrew Mangiapane said. “It’s a great atmosphere every time he gets a goal for us.”
Kudos to Ovi for sticking with his team, Capitals, for his whole career. In the NBA, players jump from team to team, whenever offered bigger bucks. For years Capitals were lowly. Ovi stuck with them. Maybe, maybe this year, they can win the Stanley Cup, a fitting cap to Ovechkin’s phenomenal career.
St. Louis Blues Ain’t Blue No Mo’!
By Shlomo Maital
I grew up in Canada, dreamed of being a hockey goalie — and then went to live in Israel, where ice is what we put into our cups of water. But I still have a deep love for hockey – and so, celebrate the incredible Stanley Cup championship won yesterday (Wednesday) by the St. Louis Blues. This, despite my years of summers teaching in Boston, rooting for Boston’s exceptional sports teams, the Patriots (football), Red Sox (baseball) and Bruins (hockey), all of whom have won championships repeatedly and recently.
Why was this win incredible?
As late as early January, the St. Louis Blues were at the bottom of the league – not a great place for a championship bid. The Blues won 30 of their last 49 games, made the playoffs – and beat Boston in the seventh game of a best-of-seven championship series.
And they did it in Boston Garden, away from home, in an arena known for its incredibly loud partisan fans. They won the final game 4-1, scoring two goals in the first period, to zero for Boston. They did it despite being outshot 12 shots (Boston) to two (St. Louis) in the first period. Yes – those two shots were both goals. Credit St. Louis’ amazing goalie. Jordan Binnington starred, stopping 32 shots in all. Nearly all Stanley Cup champions have a hot goalie like Binnington.
St. Louis Blues have never won a Stanley Cup, in their 52-year history. This is their first. Who would have believed it?
Certainly the sports bettors didn’t! One fan reportedly won $100,000 from a $250 bet at the start of the season, that St. Louis would win the Cup. By my calculation that puts the initial odds at 400 to 1!
How did St. Louis do it? They are a strong physical team, that won games by grinding out faith, forechecking and hard blue-collar work. Credit their coach for gluing this team together.
And as usual, there was a human interest story too. According to the BBC, “the Blues celebrated with Laila Anderson, an 11-year-old diagnosed with a life-threatening immune disease. A video of Laila bursting into tears after being told she had been cleared by her doctor to attend the most important fixture in her team’s history went viral on Wednesday. Forward Alexander Steen had told Laila she was the team’s “lucky charm”, while defenseman Colton Parayko has been wearing a bracelet sporting the words “Laila strong”. “
Blues were last in a Stanley Cup final in 1970 – 49 years ago. Do their faithful fans deserve it? You bet.
TIMnovate 