Ovechkin’s team doesn’t need an egoist
Yes, in the match against Philadelphia, the 38-year-old Russian forward did not score any points. Although his “Washington” took a point on the road when he took the match to overtime, where he lost in a shootout (3:4). By the way, Alexander the Great himself was not allowed to participate in the shooting. Attempts were made by TJ Oshie (scored), Dylan Strome and Anthony Mantha (missed).
This also raises a question for guest coach Spencer Carbery: Over the past two seasons, Strome (five assists) and Mantha (two assists) have not scored a single post-game shootout. Why bet on them? On the other hand, Alexander Ovechkin wasted all six of his attempts. So there are no questions about Ovi, but the club’s best penalty shootout master, Evgeny Kuznetsov (6/9), did not play that evening due to an undeclared illness. He was removed from the lineup just before the game.
Another question for coach Carbery: during this meeting, Ovechkin once again played in line with Strome and enforcer Tom Wilson. If the captain doesn’t score in 11 straight games, why not try him in a line with someone else? But from game to game, we see the same combination of fundamentally one-dimensional forwards intended for shooting.
Wilson – three, Ovechkin – four, Strome – five shots per game. In other words, instead of switching to wingers, 26-year-old Canadian center Strome is designed to score himself. And he did it, he scored his 12th goal of the season. But it’s clear that Ovi’s team needs a completely different, selfless type of center forward.
The Philadelphia goalkeeper was furious
In the second period, Ovechkin almost scored a goal when he fired a deadly shot from his office on the power play. The puck hit Philadelphia goalie Samuel Ersson in the head and broke his goalie mask. And seconds later, Wilson scored his goal, although Ovi’s point wasn’t even credited for the assist.
In general, one could hear even on the broadcast how the 24-year-old Swede addressed the referees: “Hey! Hey! My mask is broken! But the game was not stopped and there was trouble in the Flyers zone.
After this point, Ersson was furious that he didn’t have time to repair a strap that had come loose from his mask. During the next televised timeout, the angry goalkeeper approached the referee to discuss what had happened. But the referee made a hand motion, prompting the goalkeeper to raise his mask next time so the referees would understand what was happening.
Overall, it’s a shame Ovechkin didn’t get the help he deserved. Even if it was neither hot nor cold for Alexander the Great. He needed a goal. But we once again realized that Ovechkin’s clicking remains at a high level. Otherwise, we were told that Washington’s captain is starting to throw errors with age. No, no, the gun still works and it fires from the desk. But it takes a little time and luck to score.
“It seems the fire has gone out in Ovi.”
Here are two fan opinions on the Philadelphia game, drawn from the multi-million dollar chorus of people discussing Ovechkin these days.
“I specifically looked at Ovi today in several shifts. The man was invisible. He barely fought for possession of the puck and his work in the defensive zone was terrible. She’s never been great, but today she was particularly bad. The passes didn’t look good either. He doesn’t seem to be trying. Or maybe he’s injured. I don’t know exactly what the reason for its decline is. But he hardly plays like the captain we usually see.
“I turn on almost every Caps game since 2007 just to watch Ovi play. He’s the only player I watch every time he steps on the ice. I always felt that way about him and watching him play was a great pleasure for me. This year is proving difficult and Ovechkin is acting like he’s playing in a beer league. It seems the fire has gone out. I don’t think it’s a physical problem. To be honest, I guess it’s a mental problem. I don’t know how much longer I can watch such matches, I don’t want to remember Ovechkin as weak. You know, I thought his start to the match was pretty good. But then he slowed down a lot. Maybe disappointment could finish him off.
However, he has also had successful periods in his career in the past. But he came back and shocked everyone, becoming the best again. Hopefully Ovechkin can do it again.”
Alexander needs to throw more
Yes, Sasha found himself in an unfamiliar situation: for almost a month he has not been able to achieve the goal.
Ovechkin went 11 games without scoring, officially the longest goal drought of his storied 19-year career. The last time such a collapse happened to him was between February 22 and March 12, 2017. But that season, the 32-year-old Ovechkin still scored 33 goals and his Washington team won the President’s Trophy as the best team of the regular season.
But now everything is different. Ovechkin has only five goals in 26 games and is on pace to finish the season with 16 goals. Never in his career did Alexander the Great score fewer than 20 goals.
And the question arises: will Ovechkin (827) be able to reach the goals of Wayne Gretzky (894), with whom he is only separated by 67 goals?
We understood that nothing had happened to the force of Alexander’s throw. It can still load in such a way that no one will find it too small.
But the number of shootings has decreased. If earlier Ovechkin occupied first place in the league in this indicator, now he is only 28th (94). The leader is Nikita Kucherov (140), who is the top scorer in the championship. Everything is logical: the more you throw, the more points you score.
And here we see two problems at once. First, Ovechkin converts his chances very poorly this season. He is only 14th in Washington (5.3%) in goals/shots ratio. 58 of his shots were blocked, 39 shots went wide and in total, Ovechkin had 191 attempts to score the puck. And only five goals. It doesn’t work and that’s it.
At the same time, Ovi does not realize his 100% chance. There is such an indicator in the NHL. So, last season, Alexander scored 13 goals on 75 opportunities (17.3%). And now, there is only one goal on 17 chances (5.9%).
As Ovechkin himself says about himself: “If I have a chance to score the puck, I have to do it, you know? It’s my job”.
Second, Ovi doesn’t need a center as selfish as Strome. The absence of Nicklas Backstrom, who gave Ovechkin the most assists in his career, has a significant impact. But the problem with Washington is that the roster is now extremely thin and there simply aren’t any other qualified centers for Ovechkin.
Overall, we cannot say that Alexander the Great had a bad season. His team is close to the playoff zone and Ovechkin is one of the club’s top three scorers (5+11=16) and can score 51 points (16+35) in a season.
That’s a great stat for any 38-year-old hockey player. We’re just used to expecting a lot more from Ovechkin. And we simply cannot accept the fact that Comrade Time can overcome even such a blockage.
“You should never bet against a great man.” All he needs is one match or one hot streak to return to his previous level. Once Ovi puts the puck in the net, he could have a 10-game streak where he scores and scores. It could very well happen,” Washington forward Connor McMichael said.
“He’s in a good mood. He feels more confident than ever and knows it’s only a matter of time before he starts getting new opportunities,” says Carbery.
Well, let’s see, in one day Washington is playing in Nashville, in two days in North Carolina. Maybe Ovechkin will break through there.
Source : MatchTV
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.
