Alex Ovechkin of the Capitals missed six games with an upper-body strain and returned Nov. 17 to score a power-play goal against the Rangers in his first game back. When Ovechkin sustained his injury Nov. 1, he was in the midst of a three-game goal streak and leading the League in goals.

"It's always nice when you get hurt and you come back and you score in the first period on your first shot," Ovechkin said. "You feel pretty good about yourself. After that I feel pretty cool. I was not afraid to take some hits and go battle."

Atlanta's Ilya Kovalchuk also missed six games, with a broken right foot, and returned Nov. 12 with a goal against the Rangers. He followed that up with two goals against the Kings. Kovalchuk is a likely challenger to Ovechkin, the reigning Maurice Richard Trophy winner as the NHL's goal scoring leader.

"I feel pretty good," Kovalchuk said after scoring in his return. "Our team played very well without me, but I think when we're together we're a little better."

From Oct. 22 through Oct. 26, Marian Gaborik of the Rangers scored goals in three-straight games, but was forced out of the lineup the following two contests with a right-leg injury. New York lost both matchups, to the Islanders and Wild, and was outscored 6-3. Gaborik returned Nov. 1 and scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against the Bruins.

"Obviously I am not where I want to be, but I tried to help the team," said Gaborik, who also praised goaltender Henrik Lundqvist for the shutout.

Phil Kessel of the Maple Leafs missed the first 12 games of the year while recovering from off-season shoulder surgery. Without the benefit of a training camp, he made his 2009-10 debut Nov. 3 and scored goals in four of his first seven games.

"I had a ton of chances, let me tell you," Kessel said. "I've got to find some way to get some of those to go in.My job on this team is to score goals, and I've got to start doing that."

Make no mistake; these are not your garden-variety scorers.

Each of these players is a special talent, an All-Star, a franchise building block. Few can excel at their level in the face of adversity -- before and after injury. After missing time, their returns were highly anticipated headline grabbers. The feel of the stick in their hands, a few practice twirls on the ice, and all is right again in their world.

Ovechkin, Kovalchuk, Gaborik and Kessel are also among of the elite scorers of the NHL -- the goals-per-game leaders ... the sure shots.

To lead the NHL in goals after a full 82-game season is a major achievement and does not happen by accident. Yet, it is not the truest measure of the best pure goal scorer.

Goals per game is the more accurate statistic of game-in, game-out greatness. To fire home the most goals with regularity even if a player is not healthy enough or unforeseen circumstances prevent said player from appearing in all 82 games is a more telling statistic to many.

At the seasons' quarter mark, the goals-per-game leaders are an interesting mix of superstars, up-and-comers and skaters we may reconsider as among the League's best at capitalizing on their opportunities.

It's no surprise that, as of Nov. 24, Kovalchuk (13 goals in 14 games, 0.93 goals per game), Ovechkin (16-18, 0.89) and Gaborik (18-21, 0.86) were the top three in the NHL in goals per game.

Kessel (5 goals in 10 games, 0.50) is among the second tier of superstar sure shots, a group that ranges from proven scorers like Corey Perry (13 in 22, 0.59) and Rick Nash (14-23, 0.61) to former All-Rookie Team member Trent Hunter (4 in 9, 0.44) of the Islanders, to promising rookie Robbie Earl (0.50) of Minnesota, who scored two goals in his first four NHL appearances (both scores happened to come in his second game).

With 14 goals in his first 24 games, Anze Kopitar (0.58) of Los Angeles is claiming his place among the NHL's most-dominant players. Two veteran Sharks, Dany Heatley (18-25, 0.72) and Patrick Marleau (14-25, 0.56), are also living up to their reputations as top-notch goal scorers.

  DUSTIN PENNER
  LW - OILERS

G-A-P: 13-13-26
+/-: 12 | PIM: 4 | PP: 4

WATCH ›

Dustin Penner (0.54) is in his fifth NHL season and third with Edmonton, and he's making it a season to remember with 13 goals in his first 24 games, playing on a level comparable to annual All-Stars Henrik Sedin (13 in 23, 0.56) of Vancouver, Jarome Iginla (16 in 22, 0.72) of Calgary, and Zach Parise (13 in 21, 0.62) of New Jersey.

Sophomore James Neal of Dallas is a guy who has never topped 30 goals in either juniors or the minors, yet he's scoring at a pace of 0.58 goals per game (11 in 19), which would get him close to 50. Marc Savard, one of the top playmakers in the League today, is scoring goals at a clip (4 in 8, 0.50) ahead of any pace he set in his previous 11 NHL seasons, even though he was derailed by a broken foot two weeks into the season.


Contact Rocky Bonanno at rbonanno@nhl.com