HEARTWARMING: Ancient Man, 39, Leads NHL in Goals

As the holiday season approaches and the world starts to feel like a timeless and lawless airport, let this newsletter ground you with the hockey news you need to know in an easy and fun way. Yay.

Happy mid-November Monday, and dare I declare Nov. 18 the first liminal space-y Monday of the holiday season?

The sun is setting at what feels like 2 PM. My neighborhood’s Christmas marketplace is up and running. Friendsgivings have begun, Thanksgiving plans loom, and the Blackhawks, Sharks, Canadiens, and Blue Jackets are all getting comfy at the bottom of their respective divisions.

The temptation to give in to it all and enter holiday mode is creeping in. My advice? Do it. Give in.

You might find this initial lack of resistance makes it all more manageable and enjoyable if you do it right. May I introduce you to a concept that has helped me enjoy this time of year more than ever before?

In the past I’ve struggled with a bizarre combination of overwhelm and underwhelm by delaying the joy. I’d try to get ahead of work and life tasks before allowing any of the joy to seep in, then I’d abruptly cram every happy thing about this season into a week or two. I did all the things, but I didn’t give my brain time to process and reap the serotonin of each individual thing. It was more like a frantic, blurry dopamine dumpster that I was already mourning the end of while it was still happening.

A few years ago, I started soft launching my holiday seasons. If a peppermint mocha coffee sounded really good, I ordered it without thinking too much. If I stumbled upon some pop-up bar with seasonal cocktails, I’d drop in for one if I felt like it. I’d make the croissants and the cookies as the urges for seasonal joy arose. I’d put up the lights exactly when I felt like it, no sooner or no later. There was enough time and space for everything, and there was less pressure on any specific day, moment, event, or person.

Now, when mid-November rolls around, I know I’ll have a few days per week featuring seasonal joys that don’t overwhelm me. If this sounds like you, I urge you to hurry up and slow down this holiday season. The most effective way to enjoy it all early with your feet still firmly on the ground is simplification, organization, and prioritization.

This week’s Civ Report is an ode to staying grounded as the world around us transforms into a lawless airport until the Winter Classic. When I’m writing these newsletters the next few weeks, I’m asking myself a few questions. I’m trying to be a bit stricter and more concise with my writing, and I’ve found applying these questions to other areas in life can really make a difference this time of year:

• What is the biggest hockey news of the week that hockey fans absolutely need to know? How am I presenting it with fresh analysis said hockey fans haven’t already seen 400 times?

• What happened this week in hockey and/or the sports world that truly made me smile, laugh, gasp, or think?

• What is there to look forward to and/or prepare for as we enter a new week?

Five Big Things

• Babe, wake up. Alex Ovechkin is scoring a goal per period again and he is probably breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record this season. In an even bigger accomplishment, he made the Golden Knights’ Twitter account funny again.

  

  

  

  
  It appears Ovechkin was just pranking us (a Marc-Andre Fleury tribute?) when he started the season off racking up assists, not goals. Now he’s tied for the league lead with 13 goals in 17 games. He’s the first player age 39 or older in NHL history to lead the league in goals (min. 10 goals). Sunday’s hat trick made him the eighth oldest player with a hat trick — Jaromir Jagr holds that title, netting one Jan. 3, 2015 about two months shy of his 43rd birthday. I do find it hilarious that each of these stats is like, “Do you get it? He’s OLD. Here’s how many DAYS OLD our beloved ancient newborn is.”
  
  Ovechkin’s up to 866 career goals, just 29 goals away from surpassing Gretzky’s 894. He’s on pace to break the record in 38 games. That projection has him breaking it at home against Utah Feb. 9, which gives him more than a month of wiggle room. He last scored 42 goals two seasons ago, and he’s done it 13 times in his career.

• Ryan Reaves has been suspended five games for this ugly hit on Darnell Nurse (Don’t watch the video below if you don’t want to see blood and/or injury)

  Sure, Darnell Nurse should’ve been skating with his head up. But the only reason he’d have to do that is to avoid a hit like this, and these hits are pretty much only happening these days when players like Reaves get their 2:47 minutes of the night. Further, I don’t think Reaves intended to inflict serious injury. But my big plead to the league the past few seasons is to take “intent” out of suspension decisions. For suspensions to pack a bigger punch, we have to change the verbiage of the rulebook. With someone like Marty Walsh leading the NHLPA, that multi-year process might finally begin.