I had to snicker a bit with all of the Alex Ovechkin chatter of late. The future first-ballot Hall Of Famer is off to a scorching start to the season with eight goals and 16 points, leading the red-hot Washington Capitals to an impressive 9-3 start.
Of course, there will be a ton of eyes and talk on Ovechkin as he continues his hunt to break Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals scored record. Ovechkin currently sits 34 goals from the historic mark and is on pace to break the record sometime this season. It's history, and sometimes, being present watching a chase like this is a once-in-a-lifetime event. The way the game has changed over the years, perhaps that won't be the case anymore. Nonetheless, it's pretty awesome.
The Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks aired Wednesday night on TNT. The panel, which includes Gretzky, touched on Ovechkin's race and his hot start to the season, also mentioning that he's an early-season favorite for league MVP. Possibly all true. In fact, in addition to the team's success and his personal success, one thing that stands out is the fact that he's a plus-10 on the season and maintains a Corsi For Percentage of 51.3 in even strength situations. Don't forget, he's 39 years old.
Dylan Larkin is quietly putting together a tremendous start to the 2024-25 season.
The Red Wings captain is also off to a hot start to the season, matching Ovechkin with eight goals out of the gate. There are a few differences, of course. Larkin only has two assists and is a minus-1 on the year, plus the Red Wings are just hovering above .500 with a 6-5-1 record. That said, Detroit's heartbeat is once again on a near point-per-game pace, and with the Red Wings lacking the same depth scoring they had last season, more focus is on the top six, led by Larkin.
Red Wings' head coach Derek Lalonde loves to mix and match his lineup, but of late, Larkin has been centering Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat. This line flashes a ton of skill but lacks size. When centering this unit, Larkin needs to be laser-focused in the neutral zone and defensive zone, exuding additional energy to cover up for Kane and DeBrincat's lack of defensive awareness and overall ability in that regard. Sometimes, That extra effort can take its toll and limit his offensive opportunities.
On Wednesday night, we saw some vintage Dylan Larkin. Larkin got the puck on his stick in the neutral zone on a short pass from DeBrincat after Detroit forced a Tyler Bertuzzi turnover at their blue line. Larkin sprung into the zone off the right size, blowing by defender Isaak Phillips, and crossed through the front of the goal, switching to his forehand, beating Petr Mrazek with a nifty wrist shot. Those are the types of goals we've seen from Larkin throughout his career and proof of what he's capable of doing when he feels like he wants to take over a game. These are the types of things I'd like to see more. Larkin is a gifted skater and, at times, finds himself struggling to find space through center ice, but when he gets that diesel engine cranked up, he's difficult to handle.
I see ya Cap. pic.twitter.com/bTGZXqoqk6
— Octopus Thrower (@OctopusThrower_) November 7, 2024
Five of Larkin's eight goals on the season have come on the power play. That unit started the year slow, but the chemistry and continuity of that top group have found their stride and quietly a top-ten unit operating at a 25% success rate. On the other hand, the penalty kill has been atrocious at a mere 69.4% believe it or not, it has slowly improved of late.
Following Wednesday's game, Larkin talked about the chemistry between DeBrincat, Kane, and himself.
"Alex and I were finding each other, and that was nice," Larkin said. "Usually it's Kaner who is finding me as well. It's just going in right now and you just try and keep shooting. This go-around with those guys, and it does change throughout the season, and that's okay sometimes because it gets a little stale, but we're playing together, and there's a lot of movement. We were moving the puck and finding speed and tonight was better, it wasn't just off the rush and we had a little bit of zone time and had some good looks."
Next up for Detroit is a date with the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Friday evening.