Ovechkin

Alexander Ovechkin had two more goals in Washington's 3-1 win in Buffalo tonight. He now has 54 goals on the season, with 14 games to play.

Ovechkin has 54 of the Capitals' 198 goals (27.3%) -- the standings will show 200 goals, but that includes 2 shootout wins.

He is on pace to finish the season with 65 goals.

How does Ovechkin's share of his team's goals compare with others? Consider this:

In 1981-82, Wayne Gretzky had 92 of Edmonton's 417 goals (22.1%)
In 1983-84, Gretzky had 87 of Edmonton's 446 goals (19.5%)
In 1978-79, Mike Bossy had 69 of the Islanders' 358 goals (19.3%)
In 1970-71, Phil Esposito had 76 of the Bruins' 399 goals (19.0%)
In 1944-45, Maurice Richard had 50 of the Canadiens' 228 goals (21.9%)

If Ovechkin doesn't score another goal this season, he likely would still have a higher percentage than any of them -- the Capitals would have to score 47 goals --with NONE from Ovechkin -- in their final 14 games for Ovechkin to finish with a lower percentage than Gretzky.

Forever1940 is the nom de plume of Eric Hornick. Eric has worked the Stanley Cup Finals four times, and celebrated his 26th anniversary as the statistician on Islander home telecasts on January 21, 2008.