40 goals

[nj_cup]

is that the reaching point for kovalchuk to be added to hart talk?

In the clutch: 12 NHL players who score the most important goals for their teams | Puck Daddy - Yahoo! Sports

yeah you have stamkos and malkin above him in stats.

 

[TiLoBrown]

Not hating, but he shouldn't be in the Hart talk. The Devils have been too balanced of a team to pick one clear MVP.

 

[banditshcky11]

If Giroux has already been "eliminated" from discussion(which boggles my mind) then there is no way Kovalchuk should even be in the running(also he & Kessel are the only negative players in the top 10). Then %'s below depict how much they have been a part of their teams total offensive productions.


Stamkos- 43%
Malkin-37%
Giroux- 36%
Kovy- 35%

I have to give the Hart to Stamkos that team would be boned without him and probably be in the "Fail for Nail" campaign now.

 

[irishwhip03]

Even if he reaches 40 he still wont get much Hart consideration..if the Lightning somehow get into the playoffs then Stamkos wins it.

 

[DevFan60]

So far, IMO - it is Malkin. He had 3 assists today against Bruins. Another multipoint game.
He is playing smart hockey. I wish Kovy with his skills would pick something from Malkin and play smarter. Sometimes Kovy takes a puck, moves fast and forgets about partners. Malkin is reading the game better than Kovy, this is why he has top points.

 

[CalamityX11]

hmmm

Does Kovy take the puck and try something hard with it? yea... BUT he does look for his teammates though.

 

[TiLoBrown]

But 90% of the time he forgets them. That what keeps him off of the higher plane

 

[MCDevils]

I think Malkin's going to get it. The story line of Crosby going down and Malkin leading them back to the playoffs is going to be too good for the voters to pass up. If Stamkos can drag the Bolts to the playoffs, then he immediately becomes a front runner. Two weeks ago, I would have told you that Lundqvist was going to win.

 

[MCDevils]

But 90% of the time he forgets them. That what keeps him off of the higher plane

Hyperbole much?

 

[TiLoBrown]

no but thanks for asking. Really, watch the games, Malkin and OV pass more

 

[MCDevils]

no but thanks for asking. Really, watch the games, Malkin and OV pass more

 

[DevFan60]

Kovy probably read our blog. He had 2 assists tonight. But still he can do even better than this. Nice win tonight. I feel great every time when we beat Flyers. They are my most hated team.

 

[MCDevils]

Kovy probably read our blog. He had 2 assists tonight. But still he can do even better than this. Nice win tonight. I feel great every time when we beat Flyers. They are my most hated team.

Kovy also happens to be rapidly approaching his career high in assists, but besides that, he passed to the least likely player on this team to score a goal tonight....

 

[DevFan60]

A-train played great tonight. Kovy made him happier.

 

[devs30rko]

Sorry tilo but if you think kovy could pass more I don't know what you're watching. The consistent gripe has been he doesn't shoot as much as he should, ie: 9 game span with no goals yet still found his way onto the score sheet majority of the time.

All do respect I'm calling a spade a spade here and telling you you're drinking some serious haterade. The guy has done everything one could possibly do to acclimate to being a devil, and 3 years removed the only piece if value we gave up for him is oduya. What you could possibly be seeing in a guy who has 41 assists to say 'he leaves his teamates behind' seriously has to be due to some sort of heavy halucinogen.

 

[CalamityX11]

Remember after the trade, all Kovy did was setting people up first and 2nd, then he'll look for his.

Kovy is a great player/guy... contract is hideous but whatevz lol....

 

[TiLoBrown]

You can call it whatever you want. I've never griped about him not shooting enough. You can call a spade a spade if you fact. Fact is OV, Malkin, Sid, even Stamkos all set up other players more than Kovy, they make their teams better. That's why they get Hart talk.

You want Kovy to be a Hart type player, but he's still not there yet. He's on his way by taking defensive responsibility, and yes he's passing more this year but it's still not enough. Most of the time we still see him stick handle through an entire team, only to lose the puck.

As for which games I'm watching, I'm pretty active in the GNTs. Even got rep for saying if Kovy passed more we may score, he did and we did. But what do I know? I'm just a hater.

 

[Nasty_Magician]

I disagree 100% with the Kovy doesn't make people better statement. He is a shoot first player, that is why we brought him here. His passing has improved tremendously but I still want him shooting, that is what gets him in the MVP talk. The more he shoots, the more opposing teams have to respect him, which leads to double coverage which creates space for everybody else.

There are times where he doesn't have the puck and he still draws defenders to whatever side he's on, giving the puck carrier way more room to do what they want. The 2 on 1 lastnight, Babrovsky was dead set on covering Kovy, absolutely did not expect the pass to Volchenkov, and in fairness to him, how do you not expect Kovy to shoot there? Kovy makes players better.

 

[devs30rko]

Second half of this year games where kovy doesn't get an assist are far more rare than games he does. I'm not saying he deserves the hart but when your top 5 in the league in ppg and mOst of your pts are assists I'd have to say your passing is just fine. You know, only in the top 95 % of the league

 

[devs30rko]

As far as his not making players better argument goes, to say that is to say players like henrique (while he sure as hell fits and belongs on that line) have not benefited from playing w kovy