Last week, we wrote about the possibilitythat the NHL could have no 100-point man or 50-goal scorer this season.
And then Patrick Kane went wild, piling up eight points in three games to get to 102.
Alex Ovechkin could still reach 50 goals, too. He’s got 47 with three games to go.
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But their totals will be nothing compared to the numbers Wayne Gretzky used to amass with the Oilers. In 1981-82, he scored 92 goals and 212 points. In 1985-86, it was 163 assists and 215 points.
How times have changed.
In an interview with the New York Times, the Great One lamented the “grinding game” that he sees today in the NHL.
“When I was 10 years old, they’d throw a puck on the ice and say, ‘Go score,'” he said. “Now, at 10 years old, the kids are taught to play in their lanes. Defensemen stay back. Everybody blocks shots. I mean, my goodness, I don’t think I ever blocked a shot, and I killed penalties every single game. I thought goaltenders were paid to block shots, not forwards. It’s changed completely. I think the biggest thing we’ve lost is a little bit of our creativity and imagination in general.”
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