Frozen Fantasy: History in the Making

History. We tend to look back on it, but we don't often stop to consider we're living it. Like Saturday night. Did you see Alex Ovechkin?

The Gr8? Or maybe the greatest ever?

Ovi scored his 787th goal Saturday from – where else – his office. And with it, he moved ahead of Gordie Howe to become the NHL's all-time goal leader with a single franchise.

It took Ovi just 1,287 games. Howe? 1,687.

Not to diminish Howe – he's on hockey's Rushmore. But Ovechkin is headed to greater heights. And perhaps even a spot as the greatest ever.

He's only 14 goals from tying Howe for second all-time in goals. That will come this season. He's 107 from tying Wayne Gretzky for the all-time record.

At 37, his shot is as sharp as ever, so it's more than just possible. And we should be savoring every game.

As fantasy managers, we often get caught up watching box scores rather than games, and spending time toggling between screens instead of immersing ourselves in a single matchup.

I'd get it if it were baseball. Even fans in the stands stare at their phones during games.

Now is the time to put down the phone and catch every Caps game possible. Uninterrupted if you can. Don't be the person who says they saw it live, but if pushed must admit it was actually off YouTube or Twitter. Or off someone else's reel.

The game has changed, but our love for it hasn't. Tap into that passion and live in the moment through Ovechkin. We're not likely to see another massive milestone chased for another 15 years or more when Connor McDavid might get close.

That's a long time to wait for history to be made. If it happens at all.

Now, let's take a look at who caught my eye this week.

Jamie Benn, LW/C, Dallas (29 percent Yahoo!) – Benn has been on my radar all week. He put up five points (one goal, four assists) in wins over the Kings and Coyotes and then capped it with a hat trick and a snarl Saturday against the Oilers. Benn has been soaking up power-play time – five of the seven points on his current three-game streak have come on the man-advantage. Father Time seems to have caught up to him, but you don't have to be fast to shovel in pucks from the side of the net. And Benn's hands are as sharp as ever. Get him. 

Lawson Crouse, LW/RW, Arizona (8 percent Yahoo!) – Crouse went into Saturday on a modest three-game goal run along with four in his last five. And two of his last three goals have come on the power play. Big men often take time to grow into their games. And at 25, this could be Crouse's time. Guys in the desert often go unnoticed by fantasy managers. Or maybe it's more that they're avoided. Crouse could be poised to grow his game to a 25-goal, 50-point, 200-hit season while providing eligibility on both wings. That kind of flexibility is gold in many formats. 

Kirby Dach, RW/C, Montreal (12 percent Yahoo!) – I wonder when Chicago will wave the white flag on the Dach deal – he's finally caught the Montreal magic alongside Cole Caufield (89 percent Yahoo!) and Nick Suzuki (78 percent Yahoo!). He got off to a slow start, but things shifted in a big way this week. The line produced seven points Saturday, with Dach leading the way. And his three assists stretched his scoring streak to four games and seven points (one goal, six helpers). Dach is producing on the PP, yet the playmaker won't ever ring up a heavy shot total. But he could end up in the 60-70 point range if this chemistry continues.

Yanni Gourde, C, Seattle (4 percent Yahoo!) – Gourde is back and no one outside Seattle's fog has noticed. Sucks to be them. After going pointless in his first six games, Gourde has put up points in five of his last six. And he's on a three-game, five-point streak (two goals, three assists) with seven hits heading into this week. Gourde's still light on faceoff wins, but that's because he's currently deployed on the wing. And that's where his potential lies. If he gains multi-positional eligibility (Please, Yahoo! Please!), then deep leagues will have a potential 50-point winger who'll also chip in a little on the PP and at the faceoff dot. Sometimes stable secondary scoring is the ticket you need to balance streaky stars in your lineup.

Erik Kallgren, G, Toronto (26 percent Yahoo!) – Gulp. Ilya Samsonov didn't come out to start the third period Saturday due to a knee injury. And Matt Murray (groin) isn't close to returning. Welcome to the starting lineup, Erik Kallgren. He's no star, but he can be serviceable even if his numbers so far have been poor. Remember he had to do the same in the second half last season and it wasn't a complete trainwreck. Kallgren has a high-scoring team in front of him, and that can provide some cover for a shaky goal here and there. He may be able to deliver a few wins with unspectacular ratios until one of the other goalies gets healthy again. Your format will dictate if Kallgren can help. The Leafs sure hope he can.

Andrei Kuzmenko, LW, Vancouver (33 percent Yahoo!) – I like Kuzmenko. He's smart, reads the play like he's watching it from above, and finds quiet seams that put him exactly where he should be in the offensive zone. That's an unheralded skill that will make him beloved by his playmaking teammates. Kuzmenko will be in the right place at the right time, every time, and that means chances and goals. He notched a hat-trick and added an assist Thursday, and recorded three multi-point games in his last four heading into Saturday. And notably, the Canucks won all three of those contests. Kuzmenko added a power-play snipe Saturday and now has seven goals and 11 points in 12 games. Fantasy managers are noticing, so move quickly.

John Marino, D, New Jersey (2 percent Yahoo!) – Marino has very quietly become one of the best offseason acquisitions in hockey. He defends the rush like few others. He reads the play correctly every time. And opponents just don't get real chances when Marino is on the ice – he boasts some of the best advanced metrics in the league. And he's started to put up points and had a three-game streak snapped Saturday, but reeled off a goal and five assists across his last seven appearances. Marino isn't going to get power-play time and won't give you more than about one hit and blocked shot a game. But I think there's plenty of room on rosters for a 35-40 point defender with potential league leading plus-minus. Marino is on one of my teams for exactly that reason.

Miles Wood, LW, New Jersey (3 percent Yahoo!) – Wood is on fire with seven points, including four goals, on a four-game streak heading into this week. He caught my eye Thursday when he scored twice and added a helper in a big win over the Oilers. Wood throws his body around and his mouth, so he can be fun to watch. And that can both inspire and upset his teammates – remember his "I'm just sick and tired of being on a bad team" outburst after the first game of the season? Inside the room, he's probably still picking up the pieces from that. But scoring solves that quick. Pick Wood up if you've got room due to injury, but don't drop anyone valuable.

Back to history.

Debate the GOAT as you will. We all have opinions and rationale. And biases, too.

I used to say Bobby Orr was GOAT because he changed the game. But Doug Harvey had already done that. Orr actually wore number 2 in junior to honor Harvey.

Wayne Gretzky is widely believed to be the greatest. His 2,857 points will likely never be touched. Connor McDavid will need almost 1,500 more games at his current pace to match it.

That's at least 18 more seasons. Gulp.

That puts things in perspective. Alex Ovechkin's pursuit of Gretzky's goal record is real. This may be the only time to watch hockey history in our lifetimes.

I, for one, don't intend to miss any of it.

Until next week.