First Alex the Great, then Sid the Kid.
The schedule doesn?t get any easier for the Maple Leafs as they head on a road trip to the two cities with two of the biggest names in hockey.
Both love playing the Leafs. Ovechkin has 34 points in 20 career games against Toronto, a rate of 1.7 points per game, well above his career average of 1.32 PPG.
Crosby has 33 points in 21 games, a rate of 1.57 a game, also above his career average of 1.38 points per game.
Here?s a look at both players.
OVECHKIN: It?s Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Monday. Some folks are scratching their heads at OV?s production this year. They say he?s a little off, not giving it his all, perhaps saving his energy for the playoffs. Poppycock, says coach Bruce Boudreau.
?He?s he?s playing fine,? Boudreau said in a phone interview. ?People bitched at us last year for being too offensive, so we clamp down and play defensive and now individuals are getting bitched at for not scoring. You can?t win.?
Ovechkin went nine games without a goal until scoring against Atlanta in a loss Saturday. Boudreau says he?s emphasizing defence this year, and Ovechkin is buying into it after being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs on the heroic goaltending of Jaroslav Halak and the Montreal Canadiens.
?We wanted to as a unit be tighter in the regular season. You can?t just turn it on in the playoffs,? said Boudreau. ?At the same time that wasn?t why we lost in the playoffs. We played good defence we just couldn?t score any goals. Whatever part is negative is going to be accentuated if you don?t have success.?Alex Ovechkin vs. Toronto
Year GP G A Pts
2010-11 1 0 2 2
2009-10 4 4 8 12
2008-09 3 3 1 4
2007-08 4 4 3 7
2006-07 4 2 1 3
2005-06 4 5 1 6
Total 20 18 16 34
Points per game vs. NHL: 1.32
Points per game vs. Leafs: 1.7
SIDNEY CROSBY: Don?t look now but Sidney Crosby is on a 15-game points streak to snare the NHL lead away from Steve Stamkos. (Remember the Leafs were en route to a couple of games against Tampa when Stamkos got hot.) Crosby has 17 goals and 14 assists during his streak and leads the NHL with 23 goals and 47 points.
Last season he didn?t score his 22nd goal until the 34th game en route to tying for the league lead with 51 goals. ?When you?ve got it going, you try to keep going,? he told reporters in Columbus following a 7-2 win over the Blue Jackets. ?Keep shooting the puck.?
Crosby has led the Penguins to first place in the Eastern Conference thanks to nine wins in a row and an unbeaten-in-regulation streak stretching to 12 games (11-0-1) This was team in a funk with shaky play from goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and an injury that has kept Jordan Staal out of the lineup all season.
Sidney Crosby vs. Toronto
Year GP G A Pts
2010-11 1 1 0 1
2009-10 4 6 1 7
2008-09 4 2 4 6
2007-08 4 3 4 7
2006-07 4 2 6 8
2005-06 4 1 3 4
Total 21 15 18 33
Points per game vs. NHL: 1.38
Points per game vs. Leafs: 1.57
The schedule doesn?t get any easier for the Maple Leafs as they head on a road trip to the two cities with two of the biggest names in hockey.
Both love playing the Leafs. Ovechkin has 34 points in 20 career games against Toronto, a rate of 1.7 points per game, well above his career average of 1.32 PPG.
Crosby has 33 points in 21 games, a rate of 1.57 a game, also above his career average of 1.38 points per game.
Here?s a look at both players.
OVECHKIN: It?s Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals on Monday. Some folks are scratching their heads at OV?s production this year. They say he?s a little off, not giving it his all, perhaps saving his energy for the playoffs. Poppycock, says coach Bruce Boudreau.
?He?s he?s playing fine,? Boudreau said in a phone interview. ?People bitched at us last year for being too offensive, so we clamp down and play defensive and now individuals are getting bitched at for not scoring. You can?t win.?
Ovechkin went nine games without a goal until scoring against Atlanta in a loss Saturday. Boudreau says he?s emphasizing defence this year, and Ovechkin is buying into it after being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs on the heroic goaltending of Jaroslav Halak and the Montreal Canadiens.
?We wanted to as a unit be tighter in the regular season. You can?t just turn it on in the playoffs,? said Boudreau. ?At the same time that wasn?t why we lost in the playoffs. We played good defence we just couldn?t score any goals. Whatever part is negative is going to be accentuated if you don?t have success.?Alex Ovechkin vs. Toronto
Year GP G A Pts
2010-11 1 0 2 2
2009-10 4 4 8 12
2008-09 3 3 1 4
2007-08 4 4 3 7
2006-07 4 2 1 3
2005-06 4 5 1 6
Total 20 18 16 34
Points per game vs. NHL: 1.32
Points per game vs. Leafs: 1.7
SIDNEY CROSBY: Don?t look now but Sidney Crosby is on a 15-game points streak to snare the NHL lead away from Steve Stamkos. (Remember the Leafs were en route to a couple of games against Tampa when Stamkos got hot.) Crosby has 17 goals and 14 assists during his streak and leads the NHL with 23 goals and 47 points.
Last season he didn?t score his 22nd goal until the 34th game en route to tying for the league lead with 51 goals. ?When you?ve got it going, you try to keep going,? he told reporters in Columbus following a 7-2 win over the Blue Jackets. ?Keep shooting the puck.?
Crosby has led the Penguins to first place in the Eastern Conference thanks to nine wins in a row and an unbeaten-in-regulation streak stretching to 12 games (11-0-1) This was team in a funk with shaky play from goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and an injury that has kept Jordan Staal out of the lineup all season.
Sidney Crosby vs. Toronto
Year GP G A Pts
2010-11 1 1 0 1
2009-10 4 6 1 7
2008-09 4 2 4 6
2007-08 4 3 4 7
2006-07 4 2 6 8
2005-06 4 1 3 4
Total 21 15 18 33
Points per game vs. NHL: 1.38
Points per game vs. Leafs: 1.57
