A lot has been made about Alexander Ovechkin’s ice
time during these playoffs. For a thoughtful dialogue on the issue, check out
Post Sports Live http://wapo.st/IGDjZl. A
lot of great points are made here, but I sense that it’s getting blown out
of proportion a little. Here’s my take on it.
First of all, Dale Hunter is no dummy. He knows that he needs Ovechkin scoring to win the Cup. So my thought is that this is
as much about putting Ovechkin in position to score as it is about masking his
defensive liabilities and matching lines. I read an interesting blog article Monday
about Ovechkin's production and how teams are defending him. The big theory is
that teams are defending the spots on the ice from where he likes to shoot rather than
defending Ovi himself. Therefore Ovi must change his game to score from
different spots on the ice. But the big statistic that no one is really talking
about is the percentage of shots taken by the Capitals during Ovechkin's 5 on 5
shifts. It has gone down dramatically over the last two years, along with
Ovechkin's production. Which means, teams
are defending him by making him play more defense.
If you watched Game 1 vs. the Rangers, in which
Ovechkin logged more ice time yet only one shot on goal, he spent most of his
shifts mucking the puck out of his own end and then had nothing left in the
tank at the end of his shift when the Caps got the puck. So, if you're Hunter,
and you want a fresh Ovechkin on the ice to attack the net, you may try to pick
your spots to get him on the ice in the offensive zone. You also see him
playing more with Laich, Brouwer and Ward, forwards who can fish the puck out
of the corner and get it to Ovechkin in transition. Like I said, I think Hunter
is smart and trying to put Ovechkin in position to be successful, which could
also mean less ice time and different line combinations than what we’re used to seeing.
If you look at Ovechkin's Game 2 stats (other than ice time) you'd think he
played the whole game - a game high 7 shots on goal, GWG and a couple of hits.
He was darn close to scoring more than one goal. Yes, I would like to see Ovechkin on the ice more, but if he can be that
productive in 13 minutes, then I say let him be rested for a long Cup run.
My guess is that tonight in Game 3 you'll see Ovi’s
ice time increase as Hunter can dictate more advantageous line match ups with
the last change. You’ll also see his minutes go up if the Caps can take less penalties
and/or be on the man advantage more often. It may not be the minutes he's used
to seeing, but they will go up.
And a final footnote for Ovechkin - the Caps are 0-2 in the playoffs this year when he has logged more than 20 minutes of ice time.
Let's go Caps!
