The Washington Capitals barely made it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season entering the postseason with the worst record among all 16 qualified teams.
They got there mostly thanks to a late-season resurgence by legendary goalscorer Alex Ovechkin, but after the first two games of their first-round series against the New York Rangers, the Capitals are already 0-2 and Ovechkin has a single shot on goal through two games.
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery called out his winger on Tuesday, April 23, saying Ovechkin is “struggling” and “not getting looks” to put the puck in the Rangers net.
“I thought the first two games he looks a little bit off. He’s struggling,” Carbery told reporters after the 4-3 loss in Game 2.
“He should on a nightly basis get four or five looks,” Carbery added. “He’s not getting those looks.”
The Capitals will host Game 3 and Game 4 in Washington while entering the first of those two games down 2-0 in the series and facing a rather steep hill if they want to pull off the upset.
Alex Ovechkin Isn’t Helping Capitals But Rather Hurting Them
The Washington Capitals entered the first-round series against the New York Rangers as the clear underdogs.
After losing Game 2 on Tuesday, April 23, the Capitals boast a tiny 0.1% probability of making the Stanley Cup Final and a zero-chance of winning the cup, according to MoneyPuck’s model.
In the first two games, Ovechkin has accrued a grand total of 1 shot on goal and no points at all, neither by assisting nor scoring goals himself.
In fact, if negative assists were a thing, then Ovechkin could have logged one following a horrible mistake committed by the Russian winger in Game 2 that ended with the Rangers scoring a shorthanded deal late in the second period.
“It was kind of weird bounce,” Ovechkin said after the game, via The Hockey News’ Sammi Silber. “I think Zibanejad played stick-on-stick.
“How I said, lucky, but I have to play safer, especially in that kind of moment.”
K’Andre Miller‘s goal put the Rangers up 4-2 and it is fair to say it was double damaging because it doubled the distance between both teams in the score while also taking place during a Capitals’ power play.
Carbery Had Some Tough Words to Say About Ovechkin
Following the loss and addressing the media during his postgame press conference, coach Carbery pointed out Ovechkin’s offensive struggles as well as his defensive miscues, calling out the forward for “bobbling” the puck.
“We give up the [short-handed goal] when Ovi turns [the puck] over, which was a really, really difficult goal to give up,” Carbery said. “On the play, he gets a puck cross-ice and he’s getting pressured right away and he bobbles it.”
Carbery, however, sounded optimistic about the possibility of Ovechkin eventually finding his groove during the next few games and improving his on-ice production.
“He can flip it. That’s one thing about him,” Carbery said. “He could flip it in one game and now he can all of a sudden be a difference maker and help us win a game.
“He’ll be good. He’s been through so many situations like this. I expect him to step up big time.”
Ovechkin finished the regular season with 31 goals and 34 assists in 79 games in his age-38 and 19th NHL season heading into the playoffs with the Capitals having the second wild-card seed.
This year has been marked by Ovi’s unrelenting chase of Wayne Gretzky‘s goalscoring record, one he is projected to surpass either next season or the following one if he keeps playing hockey in the NHL by then.
Gretzky finished his career with 894 goals while Ovechkin wrapped up the 2023-24 regular season at 853 through 1,426 games played, per NHL.com.
Capitals and Rangers face each other for a third time on Friday, April 26, in Washington for Game 3 of their first-round series. The Rangers are in a commanding 2-0 lead after the first two games and could clinch a place in the second round before the weekend is over if they win the next two contests on the road.
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