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Chasing History

Written by: Jesse Michael on 9th February 2010

Chasing History | read this item

These days, the only things falling in Washington are the NBA’s Wizards, Barack Obama’s approval rating, and record amounts of snow.

The Capitals on the other hand are firing on all cylinders, lead by Captain Alexander Ovechkin, winning 14 straight games.

Wait. 14 in a row?

That must be some kind of record no?

It’s the question that always comes up whenever a team heads past the ten in a row mark.

But even though Ovechkin and co. are playing unbelievable hockey, they are still three wins shy of tying the all-time winning streak in the NHL.

By whom you ask?

The 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins.

Ironic isn’t it? How the Capitals biggest rival these days – arguably – are the Penguins and their franchise has held a firm grip on the consecutive win streak for 18 years.

The last time the Capitals lost was almost a month ago on January 12^th, a 7-4 offensive-filled game against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Since then however, the Caps have scored 48 goals, over one-fifth of their entire output this season (234). Ovechkin himself has 29 points – 15 of those goals – as the main orchestrator behind the winning streak.

What’s been most impressive about this Capitals team has been their ability to get secondary scoring on a consistent basis. The last time the Caps scored less than three goals in a game was January 2^nd against the LA Kings in a 2-1 loss.

Besides the usual characters – Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Semin – chipping in, Czech Olympian Tomas Fleischmann has had a breakout season with 17 goals and 41 points, while Mike Knuble has rejuvenated his career playing with Ovechkin and Backstrom, scoring 21 goals in 47 games played.

And don’t forget about Brooks Laich.

Not the most graceful player compared to others on the team, “Brooksie” is on pace to break his highest goal total (23) of his career, as well as points (53). Three of his 17 goals so far this season have been game winners, and has contributed eight points on the powerplay in an elevated role.

No matter what though, Ovechkin is the captain, the leader, and the glue that holds the team together.

With 42 goals on the season, he will most likely pass 50 goals – barring injury – for the fourth time in his short five year career.

This prompted ESPN’s John Buccigross to write an article on how he believes Ovechkin has a chance to pass Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal scoring record with what he says will take “a lot of health, a lot of hockey love, and a lot of luck.”

For now, Ovechkin must focus on the difficult task of helping his team break the Penguins’ record, with not the easiest schedule ahead of them.

They play three games in four nights heading into the Olympic break starting tonight against the Canadiens; followed by the Senators Thursday night and the Blues on Saturday night.

If they end up tying the record on Saturday, they will then have to beat the Northeast division leading Sabres in their first game back on March 3^rd to break it.

The Caps seem set for a big playoff push this season. But they have to be careful, those same 92-93 record-setting Penguins were upset in the second-round of the playoffs by the New York Islanders, halting their attempt at a three-peat.

They’re hoping history doesn’t repeat itself.
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*Shout out to OpenIce reader and die hard Caps fan Eric Sinker. Thanks for the support!

Topics: Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin, Brooks Laich, Buffalo Sabres, ESPN, John Buccigross, Mike Knuble, Montreal Canadiens, Nicklas Backstrom, Ottawa Senators, Pittsburgh Penguins, Tomas Fleischmann, Washington Capitals