WASHINGTON, DC — Alex Ovechkin authored the Capitals’ third period resurgence on Saturday, scoring his 902nd career goal against the New Jersey Devils to tie the score, but he extended his unsuccessful shootout streak when the game stretched past overtime.
Ovechkin has now gone 13 straight shootout attempts without scoring, with his last success coming on March 25, 2022. No other player with 10 or more attempts has gone goalless over that span.
Ovechkin shootout attempts since beginning of 2022-23 season
| Date | Opponent | Ovechkin goal |
|---|---|---|
| October 31, 2022 | Carolina Hurricanes | X |
| November 17, 2022 | St. Louis Blues | X |
| March 9, 2023 | New Jersey Devils | X |
| October 16, 2023 | Calgary Flames | X |
| October 27, 2023 | Minnesota Wild | X |
| December 7, 2023 | Dallas Stars | X |
| December 23, 2023 | Tampa Bay Lightning | X |
| December 30, 2023 | Nashville Predators | X |
| March 22, 2024 | Carolina Hurricanes | X |
| March 30, 2024 | Boston Bruins | X |
| January 2, 2025 | Minnesota Wild | X |
| November 1, 2025 | Buffalo Sabres | X |
| November 15, 2025 | New Jersey Devils | X |
Though Ovechkin didn’t shoot in the first three rounds of the skills competition, Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery sent him over the boards as the team’s fourth shooter. That choice proved the deciding moment of the game: after Devils goaltender Jake Allen stopped Ovechkin’s attempt, Simon Nemec snuck the puck past Logan Thompson for the win.
Carbery told reporters postgame that Ovechkin’s strong third period convinced him to give him a chance to shoot.
“It’s a gut call, even though he struggled recently — it’s been a while since he scored in the shootout,” Carbery said. “But that’s just a gut call for a guy that’s had a good third period, so give him an opportunity to shoot there.”
Despite Ovechkin’s lack of shootout success, Carbery has continued to give him opportunities, albeit less regularly than he once did. Ovechkin has gone over the boards in 10 of 16 shootout games since Carbery took the bench in 2023-24, including both shootout losses this season.
Ovechkin shootout usage under Carbery
| Date | Opponent | Did Ovechkin shoot? |
|---|---|---|
| October 16, 2023 | Calgary Flames | Yes |
| October 27, 2023 | Minnesota Wild | Yes |
| December 7, 2023 | Dallas Stars | Yes |
| December 14, 2023 | Philadelphia Flyers | No |
| December 17, 2023 | Carolina Hurricanes | No |
| December 23, 2023 | Tampa Bay Lightning | Yes |
| December 30, 2023 | Nashville Predators | Yes |
| March 22, 2024 | Carolina Hurricanes | Yes |
| March 30, 2024 | Boston Bruins | Yes |
| January 2, 2025 | Minnesota Wild | Yes |
| January 6, 2025 | Buffalo Sabres | No |
| February 9, 2025 | Utah Mammoth | No |
| March 3, 2025 | Ottawa Senators | No |
| April 10, 2025 | Carolina Hurricanes | No |
| November 1, 2025 | Buffalo Sabres | Yes |
| November 15, 2025 | New Jersey Devils | Yes |
Carbery dove into the team’s approach to the shootout after Saturday’s loss and took personal accountability for the decision to send Ovechkin out.
“We’ve gone through (the shootout) a lot,” Carbery said. “We’ve talked about it for hours and hours and hours. Got our analytics team involved in it. So we’ve come up with sort of a set order. And then after that, it’s a little bit on instinct. Tonight — O normally doesn’t shoot. But I’ll take responsibility for putting him in the shootout there, just with the third period he has.”
The Capitals’ shootout struggles aren’t new. They’ve won six of 16 shootout games since 2023-24 and went two-for-five last season. But for a Capitals team that’s struggling to rack up points, this year’s shootout losses could come back to bite them.
“It’s one of those things that maybe add up at the end of the season, that will matter,” Dylan Strome said postgame. “So it would be nice to get some wins in that category, for sure.”
“We’ve got to find a way to get some results in the shootout,” said Carbery.
