Is Alexander Ovechkin Afraid Of His Own Shadow?

Shadowing is a term that is normally associated with basketball and soccer—not hockey. 

I haven’t seen it since the days of Gretzky and Lemieux.  And this was before the days of interference calls.    

I believe it’s something the Pens should consider—especially since Ovechkin is making Fleury into a turnstile.

Why not stop a guy who has singlehandedly beat you?  Why not force everyone else to beat you? 

It reminds me of the “Stephen Curry Defense” we saw earlier in the year.  Curry did not touch the ball—he stood in the corner rendered useless. 

Now, Davidson still won, due to the fact that Curry allowed his teammates to control the game against an undermaned defense.  Ovechkin is too selfish for this.  He will continue to attempt to be a game changer, averaging nearly seven shots per game.

The stats back it up

Now I realize this is not realistic, but consider it for argument’s sake. If you take away Ovechkin’s goals, the Penguins win all three games.  Ovechkin has five goals in the series, and the rest of the Capitals team has four. Ovechkin has 22 total shots, while the Capitals have 60 shots all together.  Ovechkin scores on 22 percent of his shots, while the rest of the team has a measly six-percent success rate.

The statistics go on and on.  All I am saying if we have the speed to shadow Ovie—Malkin, Talbot, Crosby, Cooke, etc.

Why not force the likes of Semin and Kozlof beat us?  

Go Pens!!!