Tosky wrote:
I'm sorry but anytime you have a plus/minus that high, it's nothing to goff at. This guy helps his team defensively by pressuring the other teams defense on a constant basis and with great results. HE is the complete OFFENSIVE package. He may play defensively like a Kovalchuk but this guy does his job so well it's hardly noticeable except by those who want to nitpick his game. I would agree with the 2 minute comment if it was a not so deserving player a-la Kovalev getting that ice time, but this guy wins games on his own practically, we saw that against Pittsburgh earlier this year when they came back from 4-1 on the back of a hat-trick from Ovechkin.
I'm not "goffing" at it, I'm just saying, +/- is the most misleading stat in all of hockey, and saying he leads the league in it, doesn't absolve him of his defensive shortcomings. When your team is averaging better than 5 goals per game, you're gonna have a real good +/-, it just stands to reason. I agree he is a complete offensive package, but when he's on the ice and his team isn't controlling the puck, he doesn't do much of anything to help. It's not nitpicking, it's a legitimate observation. He get's a pass because he does so much offensively, but if other star players in the NHL can backcheck, he can too.
Also saying it's okay for him to take 2 minute shifts, a float for 45 seconds of it makes no sense to me. If you don't have the energy to go hard any longer, you get off the ice unless it's like a situation like you're down a couple in the third. It is a team game afterall, and there are other guys who should be getting the icetime when you are pushing anymore. I say the same thing when Malkin hangs around forever on the ice, and would too if Crosby did it more often.
Tosky wrote:
Who's the we? Yes he needs to improve his defensive game, is it that much of a hinderence on his game? No. Are the Capitals the best team in the league at the moment? Yes. Crosby can be offensive and play somewhat of a defensive game, Ovechkin can be offensive and he can play a physical game. Ovechkin has changed his game in one way making him more dangerous, he already has 47 assists in 54 games...plus 42 goals. His highest total ever was 54 assists so saying he hasn't changed his game his completely false.
It's not a matter of whether it's a hinderence to his game, it's a hinderence to his team sometimes. I've made mention to it prior in this post. I'm not asking for the moon, just a little more respect for his opponents and a tad more effort on the backcheck. I guess we differ on this point however. I like my players to be fast, and exciting offensively, but contribute to both sides of the puck. 99 times out of 100 defense wins championships. It's not much to ask. No one expects them to go out and block every shot, or breakup every rush against, or win every faceoff. I just like to see a consistent effort.
Tosky wrote:
Sure the Crosby whining has been somewhat overblown but when referees come out and say that he has been really pushing it, it's kinda hard to just ignore it.
I follow the Penguins and Crosby pretty closely and have never heard of this. I'd be interested to see anything more than just hearsay to suggest that a ref ever said that.
Tosky wrote:
Ovechkin in my mind is the best player in the NHL, he does what he's supposed to do the best. He is the most dangerous threat in the NHL, 9 more points than the closest competitor in 7 less games? THAT'S RIDICULOUS.
Ovechkin is without question one of the top 2-3 players in the NHL, but you have to take everything in context when basing everything on stats. Sure, Ovechkin has more points in less games, but the level of talent he plays with is far beyond Crosby's (Ovechkin: Semin, Backstrom, Green to Crosby's: Kunitz, Geurin and Gonchar; it's not even close), and I think most of us would agree, Crosby, Malkin and Ovechkin are a class of their own, so comparing them to the Sedin's or Thornton is kinda ridiculous. The penguins don't score as many goals, and Crosby has less points as a direct result of the discrepancy in offensive talent on each team. That said, I don't mind you taking Ovechkin as the best player still, it's really a wash IMO. I take Crosby personally, but that's because I feel he and Ovechkin are offensively comparable, but Crosby offer more in other areas than Ovie does, and he's nearly 2 years younger to boot.
Tosky wrote:
I guess you could say that some fans look to hold something against Ovechkin as well, wanting to look past the positives and just focusing on the few negatives.
Maybe some, not me though. There's a definite difference between ignoring the good, which is not what I'm doing, and noticing the bad. Ovechin is like any player, he's not perfect. In fact, he's still very rough around the edges. I think he has all the tools to be a good two-way player, he just needs to want to be.