The Washington Capitals-New York Rangers’ first round series is headed to DC for Games Three and Four and the Caps are facing a big hole. The team scored just two five-on-five goals in the two losses and have gotten nothing from Alex Ovechkin, their superstar captain.
Ovechkin, the team’s leading goal scorer in the regular season, was nullified inside Madison Square Garden – a venue he normally dominates. The Great Eight has 30 career road goals — regular season and postseason combined — in the famed arena. He has only scored more road tallies against the Philadelphia Flyers (31) and Carolina Hurricanes (32).
“I thought the first two games he looks a little bit off, he’s struggling,” head coach Spencer Carbery said postgame. “It’s hard. It’s the playoffs, on the road, he’s getting a tough matchup.”
Ovechkin has just one shot on goal in 38:49 of ice time. With 3:02 remaining in the second period of Game Two, Ovechkin turned the puck over, leading to K’Andre Miller’s back-breaking, shorthanded game-winner.
“We give up the shorty, O turns that one over which is a really, really difficult goal to give up,” Carbery said. “He gets a puck cross ice and he’s getting pressure right away so he’s just all of a sudden is surprised. And then he bobbles it and they turn it over.”
From a process perspective, Ovechkin hasn’t been a net negative at five-on-five. With him on the ice, the Capitals have an edge in shot attempts (+3) and scoring chances (+1). They are also dead even with New York in goals and high-danger chances during his minutes.
The NHL’s all-time leader in shots having just one shot on Igor Shesterkin through two games is a problem though. The warning signs are there that Carbery and the rest of his coaching staff may need to intervene to jumpstart their primary weapon.
“There’s two things that I notice when he’s struggling,” Carbery said. “He should, on a nightly basis, get four or five looks and he’s not getting those looks. Whether that’s a product of his matchup, whether that’s a product of his line combination, or whether he’s playing a role in that. We’ve got to find a way to get him in spots where it’s him and Shesterkin and he’s within the top of the circles.
“The second thing that I see is his shot gets blocked. That’s where I see it’s off just a touch – like even that six-on-five. Win the draw, steps [up], shin pads. Those are the two things that I sort of see but he’ll be good. He’s been through so many situations like this. I expect him to step up big time in Game Three.”
Ovechkin has been given a steady diet of the Rangers’ second line consisting of Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and Alexis Lafrenière as well as Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Adam Fox and his partner Ryan Lindgren. Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette has consistently been able to get that matchup due to having the “last change” on home ice.
Carbery is hopeful that the tides will turn when the Capitals have the “last change” back in Washington. For example, the rookie bench boss will be able to send Ovechkin’s line over the boards for an offensive-zone faceoff after seeing who Laviolette deploys.
“It’s two games,” Carbery said. “We’re going back home. Now we’ll get an opportunity to be able to control the matchup for him and he can flip it. That’s one thing about O – he can flip it in one game, be a difference-maker, and help us win a game.”
