Alex Ovechkin may be in the throes of a 11-game goalless streak, but his one-timer on the power play still remains a handful.
Take for instance a Capitals’ second-period power play against the Flyers, Thursday night. Ovechkin, from his office, sent a heavy one-timer toward Samuel Ersson that struck the Flyers’ goaltender in the mask.
The shot caused enough chaos that it led directly to a Tom Wilson PPG — Wilson’s 10th goal of the season.
#ALLCAPS https://t.co/rWXVsvjmXs pic.twitter.com/ULbLUPHQBC
— Capitals Replays (@capsreplays) December 15, 2023
After the shot struck Ersson, who was starting in place of Carter Hart due to illness, the 24-year-old Swede could be heard on the Monumental Sports Network telecast yelling “hey! hey!” at an official and waving his arms due to his mask breaking. With a mess of players standing in front of the net, the referee missed the commotion. Seconds later, Dylan Strome sent a pass through a Flyers defender’s legs finding Tom Wilson for an easy tap in.
megged him pic.twitter.com/pWQyx9w5kD
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 15, 2023
Ersson was furious after the goal that he didn’t get a whistle to fix the strap that came off his mask. During the next TV timeout, Ersson went over to the official to talk over what happened. The official appeared to make a motion with his hand where he urged Ersson to flick his mask up next time so that referees would know what’s going on.
Ovechkin ultimately did not get an assist on the play (he probably should have), and he didn’t score in the game. But it’s just a reminder that, no matter how many other things may betray him as he gets older, his shot remains elite.
Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
