Ovechkin's slump continues
Ovi's stats:
1 assist, total ice time 17:35, 22 shifts, average shift 00:47, PP 00:53, even 16:42, 2 shots on goal, 1 attempt blocked, 1 missed, 4 hits, 1 takeaway
The average shift of 47 seconds? that's unheard of Alex Ovechkin. But if you analyze other forwards stats, only Semin (53) and Perreault (49) had more with less total ice time of 16:03 and 9:53 respectively. If Ovi had less total ice time than other forwards, then we have a problem.
What's more important, the team continues to win, beating Cats 3:0 in the last game. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, and Bruce is rolling all four lines. Sooner or later the slump will end and personal stats are less important nowadays.
Ovi missed today's morning skate because of the few "bumps and bruises", according to Bruce Boudreau, "with two more games this week, we just told him to take off and get some stretching done."
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this is really annoying me because ovie is a key part to the team. They may be winning now but there will come a time when they need him and his incredible offensive skills. Somehow i think this slump has to do with his change in aggression since th 09-10 season. I read an article on yahoo sports today taking about how he doesn't seem to show the same passion and aggression (want for the puck therefore in a good way) as he used but instead being careful with his play. Right now the bottom lines are the lines scoring so to get his line back on track he needs to return and,somewhat(not always), keep to his shoot first mentality when he has the ability to get a shot off (which he hasn't been able to as of late). I've got to say im getting annoyed with how this has played out over the past season and a bit
Mike Vogel said Boudreau described Ovie's absence on the ice as a "maintenance day" for him. Isn't it a little early for this? I know he skipped some practices late last season so he could save himself for the playoffs. If Ovie needs time off from practice after only 2 weeks of the regular season, something isn't right with him, and it could be a combination of things wrong.
IMO he's feeling frustrated about not contributing more offensively, and part of that is due to his struggles with Boudreau's hybrid system. There's also probably some carryover effect from his uncle's death, and maybe feeling a bit isolated because his parents aren't here.
I also think he's struggling with the fact that what used to come so easily and naturally for him--scoring goals--isn't so easy anymore. And he's probably confused and frustrated because he dedicated himself to arriving at training camp more fit and in condition, and he isn't seeing any positive results of that change so far. If he's already banged up and bruised this early, it's got to be mentally and psychologically draining that even with all his hard work and effort, he still got hurt and isn't scoring goals.
The upside, of course, is the Caps are 5-0, but that might not be enough consolation to Ovie since he's the Captain and supposed to be leading by example. I hope he works out all his health issues, starts to relax and remember what it's like to have fun playing hockey. Most important, he should resist the temptation to put any more pressure on himself than is already there. He still has a tendency to resort to old habits, to try to do things by himself. It's part of the growing up maturing process, and these kinds of lessons can be most brutal and difficult to learn.
Believe it or not, but things like deaths of his relatives or Loko crash affect this big fella deeply. It's not actually good, but what can you do? If the team will continue to win, he will be ok. Like Greenie said, 'when Ovi doesn't score, he gets grumpy'. For some reason I am not worried. It's a long season, he's not gonna score 65 anyway, so what?
Great analysis, BobbyG and TJ. On the deaths to the Lokomotiv, the one player who had survived, only to die later, was Alexander Galimov, an old friend of Ovi's who he had played hockey with for much of his life. I'm sure that affected him emotionally.
I might be in the unpopular opinion here but how long are the excuses going to keep coming?
At the end of the 2009-2010 season it was the Olympic disappointment and all the fallout from the suspensions, ok fine.
Last season it was the training conditions, his relationship with Valeria, the stick to his hand by Shea Weber during a pre-season game that affected his game.
What's it going to be this season? His uncle's death? The Locomotiv crash? A new trainer?
Caps fans and his team mates are tired of all the excuses, and it's showing, especially with his team mates. They are really "stepping up" the the plate and making things happen!
If Ovie is upset or "lost" with out his parents around, then he has some serious emotional and mental growing up to do, he is 26 years old, I understand that might be part of his cultural, but he needs to learn some independance.
All that being said, from the couple of games I have seen, Ovie does not look well. He looks extra winded and out of shape. Let's hope it's only something short tem and that all his issues resolve soon. I miss his passion out there!
@Martha:
Excuses? He work hard during the summer. He didn't stay late out night like he used too. He came back early with a better shape. He is trying to do his best every time he hits the ice so what else can it be? I don't know how exactly did the Lokomotiv and his uncle death affect him emotionally, but one thing I'm sure of it is that BB's tactics are affecting his game and I don't think that's an excuse.
About his parents not being here, is not like he has never live with out them before. He came alone the first year and also used to sleep in a dormitory in Dynamo.
I think what everyone here meant was that it was hard for him to have left his parents back home after his uncles death. They were together when his brother die so I guess they want to be together now.
People need to leave Ovie alone. Its ONLY BEEN FIVE GAMES. How do you know he's not dealing with some difficulty at home, with family and/or friends? He's experienced a lot of loss the last few months. KEEP IT POSITIVE! He WILL prevail!!!!!!
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