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spt_Ovechkin60.appFooter = "By Bob Duff, NBCSports.com contributor";
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spt_Ovechkin60[i-1].body = "Where do you start when the conversation is about Alexander Ovechkin? Or perhaps the better question to pose would be how do you stop him?Only the third Washington Capital (Peter Bondra, Dennis Maruk) ever and the fourth National Hockey League player in the past decade (Pavel Bure, Dany Heatley, Jaromir Jagr) with two 50-goal seasons, he’s also the first player to register two four-goal games in the same season since Bondra and Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux both did it in 1995-96.
With eight games left to play and 58 goals already to his name, Ovechkin is on pace to shatter Maruk’s club record of 60 goals set in 1981-82 and add himself to another elite club, that of the 60-goal scorer. Not since Lemieux dented the twine 69 times during that 1995-96 campaign has an NHLer reached this scoring plateau.
Ovechkin is about to do it. In fact, were it not for a mini-slump that saw him held goalless for seven games from Feb. 15-29, we might be talking about the NHL’s first 70-goal scorer since Buffalo’s Alexander Mogilny and Winnipeg’s Teemu Selanne shared the NHL goal-scoring lead with 76 in 1992-93.";
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spt_Ovechkin60[i-1].body = "
Season to date vs. Thrashers: 3 goal, 3 assists in 6 games (not including 3/14 game)
What to look for: Ovechkin is usually the one doing the thrashing in Atlanta and is do for a breakout game there. He registered six goals, including a hat trick, in four games last season at Philips Arena.
Prediction: 2 goals
";
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Season to date vs. Hurricanes: 5 goals, 2 assists in 6 games
What to look for: With 15 goals in 22 games against the Hurricanes, Ovechkin likes going to Carolina almost as much as James Taylor.
Prediction: 1 goal
";
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Season to date vs. Lightning: 3 goals, 1 assists in 6 games
What to look for: Few teams do as effective a job at stifling Ovechkin as do the Lightning. He’s tallied once in his last six visits to the St. Petes Times Forum.
Prediction:";
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Season to date vs. Panthers: 4 goals, 2 assists in 6 games
What to look for: The Panthers, on the other hand, roll out the welcome mat for Alex. He’s developed a close, personal relationship with the red light at the BankAtlantic Center. Last season, he put up 3-4-7 totals in four games there.
Prediction: 2 goals
";
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Season to date vs. Hurricanes: 5 goals, 2 assists in 6 games (not including 3/25 game)
What to look for: If all goes well for the Caps, this figures to be a game with huge playoff implications. That’s when the great ones are supposed to step up and take over and minus injured Hurricanes captain and perennial Selke Trophy candidate Rod Brind’Amour, who’s going to stop Alex?
Prediction: 2 goals
";
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spt_Ovechkin60[i-1].body = "
Season to date vs. Lightning: 3 goals, 1 assists in 6 games (not including 3/27 game)
What to look for: The Lightning have nothing left to play for other than to be spoilers. And they’ve made a history of spoiling Ovechkin’s nights.
Prediction: 0 goals
";
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Season to date vs. Panthers: 4 goals, 2 assist in 6 games. (not including 3/29 game)
What to look for: A night where the Caps need a win to make the playoffs? Or a meaningless encounter? Either way, Ovechkin could light it up.
Prediction: 2 goals (67 for season)"; spt_Ovechkin60[i++] = new Array("","Vote: You make the call","","","","", "sub", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); spt_Ovechkin60[i++] = new Array("spt_0303_Ovechkin60","Will Ovechkin reach 60?","","","","", "lv", "", "", "", "right", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""); // END editorial data