Athletistic / Hockey. The authors of the authoritative North American publication The Athletic analyzed the offensive game of the Washington Capitals. Journalists criticized the captain of the capital Alexander Ovechkin.
“For many years, Washington was the envy of the league, thanks to the team’s key forwards – Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, Bäckstrom, Oshie and Wilson. All of them are the reason the Capitals became and remained a team elite for a long time. It’s thanks to them that the club won the President’s Trophy, then the Stanley Cup in 2018. But now, these five are the reason why Washington is where it is, right at above the NHL’s cellar dwellers.
Let’s start with the team captain, who remains the best of all. On offense, Ovechkin still shines – and this at 38 years old. Last year, he scored 42 goals and totaled 75 points in 73 regular season games, which for some is proof enough of Ovechkin’s effectiveness. But it’s much easier to achieve this if you spend 95% of the team’s time on the power play, where everyone is trying to get passes to Ovechkin, who will click his way to another average season. This is much easier to achieve when playing defense is considered optional.
Throughout his NHL career, Alex has always been rather cavalier about playing without the puck, but last season he reached new lows. His defensive performance would rank as the fourth-worst forward in the league, thanks in large part to the fact that Washington allowed 0.57 more expected goals with Ovechkin on the ice compared to his teammates last season.
Ovechkin cheating to offend is nothing new. What’s new is that he plays less with the puck now. His passing game isn’t what it used to be and he’s not as effective in the offensive zone. The Great Eight has become a below average forward when it comes to getting the puck into the end zone. Ovechkin remains an exceptional talent due to his “generational shot” and killer instinct as a forward. But now he is no longer the player who can be the best on a playoff caliber team. Only the San Jose Sharks, Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens have a weaker ‘better’ forward than Ovechkin in the NHL,” the article states.
Alexander Ovechkin has played for Washington since 2005. The Russian was chosen by the Capitals with the first number in the 2004 NHL draft. He spent his entire career overseas with Washington. In 2018, the Russian helped the Capitals win the first Stanley Cup in club history.
Last season in the NHL, Ovechkin participated in 73 regular season games and scored 75 points for his performance – 42 goals and 33 assists. In total, he has 822 accurate shots in the NHL, making him the second sniper in league history.
Source: Sport
I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.
