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How Alex Ovechkin nearly gave the Capitals the win against the Lightning in 15 seconds of game time

By Ian Oland

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October 17, 2021 7:31 pm

The Washington Capitals played most of the night on their heels against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The back-to-back Stanley Cup champions owned 54.9 percent of the shot attempts and 92.9 percent of the high-danger chances (13 out of 14) against the Capitals at 5v5 per Natural Stat Trick.

Yet one fantastic shift by Alex Ovechkin late in the second period nearly overcame that all.

Ovechkin’s shift started with 1:14 remaining in the second period. Five seconds later he scored his third goal of the young season.

The play begins a the Lightning and Capitals fight for possesion of the puck along the boards. Third-line forward Carl Hagelin makes a heads up play, jumping off the ice for Ovechkin to give the left wing a primo offensive zone opportunity.

Tom Wilson, from his knees, eventually wins the puck battle and pushes the biscuit to Ovechkin who has time and space. The Great 8 turns on his jets, catching Victor Hedman flat-footed, dekes, and uses the Norris Trophy-winning defenseman as a screen, beating Andrei Vasilevskiy with a hard and accurate shot.

The goal didn’t satiate Ovechkin. It just got his adrenaline going and made him want to scoar moar. So after the Capitals got control of the opening faceoff after the goal, TJ Oshie and Ovechkin did a give-and-go in the offensive zone and the Capitals captain scored again 15 seconds later.

OR SO WE THOUGHT.

Ovechkin’s shot doinks off the post, richochets off Vasilevskiy’s backside, and begins sliding towards the yawning net. Vasilevskiy reaches backward in desperation and traps the puck on the goal line with his glove.

The goal ultimately went to review where the officials, not seeing any evidence of the puck going in, reversed their call of a good goal. The puck was centimeters away from being a good goal.

In the third period, Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev tied the game 1-1 and the team’s captain, Steven Stamkos, won it in overtime. Ovechkin’s heroics got the Capitals one standings point. And if the second goal would have counted, it could have gotten them both.

On the night, Ovechkin was credited with a game highs in shots (8), shot attempts (14), and ixG (.58). He also broke the ankles of Ryan McDonagh in the third period.

The 36-year-old Ovechkin, who continues to look like he drank from the fountain of youth, opened the season with two goals and two assists against the New York Rangers, notching his 30th four-point game of his career. He trails only Anze Kopitar and Tyler Bertuzzi in goals (4).