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THN.com Top 10: Hockey's top duos

Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin of the Washington Capitals have accounted for 45 points this season. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)

John Grigg
2008-11-19 13:00:00

Simply because I live and work in Toronto, many people ask if I’m a Leafs fan. My answer is always the same: “I’m a fan of exciting hockey played by exciting players. And the day that describes the Leafs, I’ll be a Leafs fan again.”

With that as my approach, my fandom currently centers around Detroit, Washington, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Montreal. And in the near future, I can see myself looking out for games involving Columbus, Edmonton, Phoenix and Los Angeles.

Now that you have a little better idea about which teams I enjoy watching play, here’s my list of the top 10 NHL duos I most enjoy watching play:

10. Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley
•   These guys aren’t having the best start to the year, but there’s few purer snipers in the league than Heatley and even fewer set-up men as slick as Spezza.

9. Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen
•   This is a relatively new duo, especially with ‘The Mule’ having been hurt most of the year. But Zetterberg is magic with the puck and Franzen is a bull with hands. Together the two are dangerous whenever they’re on the ice.

8. Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St-Louis
•   The longest-serving duo of note in the NHL is still one of its most exciting. Like Spezza and Heatley, Lecavalier and St-Louis are off to relatively slow starts, but that’s as much a product of the storm the Lightning has become as anything else.

7. Henrik and Daniel Sedin
•   Watching the twins work together is like watching a psyche experiment. There’s just no way these two are only used to playing together; there’s more to it than that, which is what makes it fun watching them play.

6. Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer
•   Tough for a defense pairing to make this list, especially at No. 6, but these two offer the league’s best example of thunder and lightning. Pronger is probably the meanest and dirtiest player in the league, but can still put up points with the best blueliners out there. Niedermayer is the Steve Nash of the NHL. He plays like a rover; weaving in and out of traffic with the puck and into open ice without it, thinking two passes ahead of most others.

5. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry
•   Two of the league’s young up-and-comers. These are skill guys with a nasty side. They can bang and bash with the big boys in one end, then dangle and score a beaut in the other.

4. Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane
•   The two super-sophomores are the future in Chicago and look to be a pair the league can hang its hat on as well. Kane reminds me of his former coach, Denis Savard, while Toews could be another Steve Larmer.

3. Pavel Datsyuk and Marian Hossa
•   Not only are these two top offensive guys, they play the game the way it’s meant to be played – hard at both ends of the ice. There may not be a better all-around duo in the league.

2. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin
•   Hard to say right now which of these two is the better player. Crosby is the face of the NHL, but Malkin is the scoring leader and has the best rivalry in the league going with Alex Ovechkin. Skill-wise, they’re both off the charts, but both need to put the biscuit in the basket more. Whenever they’re playing, it’s hard to pull myself away from the game.

1. Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin
•   Easily the duo I want to see play the most are the two Alexes. In my opinion, Ovechkin is the best forward in the league; he scores, hits, always plays hard and his joy for playing is infectious. Semin is right at the top of the list when it comes to skill level in the NHL and just might be the heir to Joe Sakic when it comes to best wrist shots in the league. Together they’re dominating the league like no other duo this season, both averaging better than a point per game – despite Ovie’s slow start – and better than a plus-1 rating per game – an even better barometer of how dominating they’ve been thus far.

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COMMENTS (66)

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Matt McKay Posted
(2009-04-30 08:13:05)

what is wrong with you even though right at the moment Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg arent on the same line together they are the best Duo in the NHL they may not get as many points as other duos but they are the best at knowing where each other will be and they are both great of both ends of the ice. (Sidney and Evgeni arent on the same line together)

levi seller Posted
(2009-04-30 07:53:14)

wheres hejduk and smyth whether its wolski,stastny,sakic in the middle its always smyth and hejduk. plus they nothed their 300th goals in the same night

jim Posted
(2009-04-30 07:46:49)

wow... no love Henrik and Datsyuk? they cant be stopped in the playoffs.

Tim K Posted
(2009-04-30 07:33:04)

Crosby and Malkin no.1... Semin is on a hot streak, thats it hes not top in the league. Than Zetterberg Datsyuck,

bryan Posted
(2009-04-30 07:28:50)

the best duo won't even be together untila month before the playoffs Zetterberg & Datsyuk. No one scores on them and they light it up ask crosby and melkin, and most other western conf teams

john t Posted
(2009-04-30 07:27:41)

OV is the best two way player not on Detroit, and is the best all-around player not named Jarome

Evgeni Posted
(2009-04-30 07:21:35)

Ovie is playing the body and not the puck which is a great way to play defense. Saying that he plays dirty because he hits other players is a stupid comment from someone that has probably never played defense on a hockey team. To add another point, would you not hit back if you always had two of the opponents top defensemen on you at all times when you are out on the ice? Having Semin present in the lineup also does a great job of taking the double teaming off Ovie and allows for the two of them to do what they do best (score).

Steve Posted
(2009-04-30 07:21:35)

Must be a good article, everyone's attaching each other. Best Tandem right now? Devon and Joe in San Jose maybe? They score tons..How about Vanek and Pomenville? Goals Leader? It says whos the best now.. not last season..

Ed Jarveaux Posted
(2009-04-30 07:21:26)

I'm a big Penguins fan, but I have to agree with the ranking of Semin and Ovechkin over Crosby and Malkin. The ranking is for which duo is most exciting to watch, not who is better. In reality, neither duo plays together that much unless their team is going through a scoring drought or on the power play. Crosby and Malkin are both centers and Oveckin/Semin are both left wingers. I've seen the Ovechkin/Malkin videos and I agree that Ovechkin went a bit overboard and Malkin responded badly with his hit on Semin. I don't really see any of them as head-hunters, though. In the end, I just get more excited watching Ovechkin and Semin make spectacular plays. Crosby and Malkin (especially Crosby) have become increasingly conservative in the way they play the game. They skate fast, take the puck wide and try to make the perfect pass for a one timer (Malkin) or drive straight to the net and try to keep the puck as close to the net as possible for as long as possible (Crosby). I don't see either of them challenging defensemen like they did two years ago. They are incredibly effective the way theyplay now and I realize that Michel Therrien has a lot to do with their changed style of play, but it is less exciting than it used to be. I love the extra points in the standings, but miss the firewagon hockey sometimes. Semin and Ovechkin still attack with speed and creativity on a more consistent basis than my guys. I'd still pay to watch any of the duos listed in this article, though, and they're all great choices.