Alex Ovechkin briefly spoke to the press after the Washington Capitals were eliminated in the second round by the Carolina Hurricanes. The Capitals lost 3-1 in Game 5. Andrei Svechnikov scored the series-winning goal with under two minutes remaining in the third period.
Ovechkin, 39, finished the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs with 6 points in 10 games, leading the team in goals with 5.
He’s only gotten past the second round once: when the Capitals won the Stanley Cup in 2018.
Questions are edited for brevity.
How tough is it to go out like this?
Alex Ovechkin: “Yeah, it’s tough, obviously. We have a special group, but obviously, you know, we have our chances. Maybe we don’t execute, maybe luck was not on our side, because I don’t think we played bad hockey. I think we have lots of great chances to get the lead, but it’s tough.”
What made this group so special this season?
Alex Ovechkin: “Everything was clicking right away since the first practice, that first day of training camp. Everybody seemed calm and friendly, and it’s grown like a snowball.”
Was third period as well as you’ve played in series without scoring?
Alex Ovechkin: “Yeah. How I said, they played tight in their zone, we played tight in our zone, and it kind of was who scored on a goal. You can see all those games when (it was) one goal differentiation. How I said, maybe we just don’t have luck because I don’t feel like we played bad hockey in Carolina. The first period, the first 10 minutes, we had so many chances to get a lead and turn this game in our way, but we didn’t. Obviously, it’s tough, but that experience that we have this year is going to help for the future a hundred percent.”
Why was their PK so tough to solve?
Alex Ovechkin: “We knew exactly what they’re going to do. We tried different things. Obviously, they’re a top PK in the league and we have some great looks, but how I said, something was missing. Maybe it was a little bit pressure on our shoulders, but when you have a puck on your stick, you try to find something better than you have, and that maybe cost us. We didn’t score lots of goals on the power play.”
Can you appreciate all that happened this season, or too soon?
Alex Ovechkin: “Yeah, it’s too soon.”
