Charlie Klein
The brightest star in the NHL's constellation got even brighter on Sunday. Alexander Ovechkin became the fifth player in NHL history to record four 100 point seasons in his first five years in the league. You might have heard of the other four: Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Peter Stasny and Dale Hawerchuk, all of whom are in the Hall of Fame.
Ovechkin could also join yet another elite group should he win the Hart Trophy, the award given at the end of each season for the most valuable player in the league. Only Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr have won the award three times consecutively.
With seven games remaining on the Capitals schedule, the team Ovechkin captains has pretty much locked up the number one spot in the Eastern Conference and appear poised to claim the President's Trophy, the award for the most overall points in the NHL at the end of a season, for the first time in franchise history.
In addition to the heights his team has reached this season, Ovechkin is one goal behind Sidney Crosby for the league lead and one point behind Vancouver's Henrik Sedin for the points lead in the NHL. This is particularly impressive when one considers that Ovechkin has amassed these statistics in only 65 games.
The true test of Ovechkin will come in the playoffs, where the Capitals appear to have their best chance at a Stanley Cup in franchise history. Whatever happens, I am sure we will all be dazzled by what the Great 8 does next.
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