The end of last year turned out to be Alexandra Ovechkina depressed. From November 22 to December 20 – a whole month! – he didn’t score any goals at all, which, to be honest, we weren’t used to. The best sniper of our time had only five goals to his name! The conversations got to the point where Ovechkin: (a) lost form; (b) he is already too old; (c) the team around him collapsed; (d) and in general he will not break Wayne Gretzky’s record.
It’s impossible. No prospects. Point.
The “Washington” around Ovechkin was indeed undergoing an unpleasant transformation. At the start of the championship, center forward Nicklas Backström took indefinite leave of absence, ending his career due to injuries. But it was Alexander the Great who scored the most goals thanks to the Swede’s pass.
There was also Evgeniy Kuznetsov – another elite center, and also a Russian who was on the board. He also helped Ovechkin well, but recently found himself in a players’ treatment program under the auspices of the NHL and players’ union. Kuzya also dropped out indefinitely.
Finding himself without two main center forwards, Ovechkin suddenly strung together three consecutive games with goals. He scored against Dallas on the road, then at home against Montreal, and now he’s scoring against Florida on the road.
By the way, this is a Washington record for players aged 38 and over. But what happened for him to have such a three-game goal streak? Why did Alexander Ovechkin start scoring again?
1. Washington is under no pressure following the result
The Capitals lost these three games: 4:5 in overtime against Dallas, 2:5 against Montreal, 2:4 against Florida. Washington is already seven points behind the playoff zone, heading into games against monsters like Boston and Vancouver. They don’t talk about it openly, but everyone in the Capitals understands that the team will not reach the Stanley Cup. We must be realistic. This means you can focus on the main goal why the whole world is watching Washington: Ovechkin must break Gretzky’s record.
Ovi leads the Capitals in playing time among forwards, averaging 19 minutes, 25 seconds per game. And in the majority he spends 4 minutes 43 seconds per match. Only young Colorado forwards Mikko Rantanen (4.58) and Nathan MacKinnon (4.48) are on the ice more often in the league. But Ovechkin has plenty of time in every game to score a goal. Nobody corners him.
2. Ovi stopped changing three
Having taken over the team before this season, coach Spencer Carbery seemed to study it. I was constantly reshuffling the lineup, looking for different options for the units. But recently he stopped changing partners with Ovechkin. Now, Alexander regularly dates Dylan Strome and Tom Wilson.
In fact, there are no other options here. Strome is the only qualified center under Ovi. Wilson played on the first line for many years, providing solid defense and even scoring goals. Tom recently played in the NHL All-Star Game, where he was picked over the slumping Ovechkin.
You can’t look at the rest of Washington’s offensive line without crying. It’s a real nightmare out there. They built a second line in the form of Max Pacioretty – Connor McMichael – TJ Oshie, but this trio failed in the game against Florida. And Strome and Wilson have started to bring at least some stability to Ovechkin, who understands that Washington is going to the bottom of the standings for many years, like Atlantis.
3. Taking time off between matches helped
After the match against Dallas, Washington, according to the schedule, received a nine-day break. Well, Ovechkin and his family went to Dubai. Even though the flight was 13 hours one way, Sasha met friends, had a good rest with his wife and children and recharged his batteries.
It was clear that Ovechkin was more focused on the goal. Before the holidays, he even played two matches, with Los Angeles and Colorado, during which Alexander did not have a shot on target at all, which is rare for him.
But in those three games where he scored, Ovechkin had 13 shots on target. When you throw a lot, something gets stuck.
4. He got back into shape.
A week and a half break helped Ovechkin heal his strain injuries. And as the season progressed, he returned to his usual NHL tone. The first matches of the championship showed that Alexandre was heavy, had lost speed and that the puck did not stay on his hook. Or something went wrong in summer training – maybe it was aimed at old Ovechkin, but now we’re dealing with a veteran Ovechkin who should be prepared differently. Or Sasha was really caught up in the events, and he missed something.
But it is clear that Ovechkin, while everyone criticized and trampled on him, is gradually returning to form. He found himself.
5. Finally, he started getting pregnant!
In this championship, Ovechkin has a terrible shooting percentage. And this cannot be explained by the loss of form or the restructuring of Washington. Alexander the Great’s throw should not have been in vain. But now it only makes 6.9% of sales. This is half as much as usual, when Ovechkin used to hit the net with 14 or even 15% of his shots.
In the right direction, Sasha should now have not 11, but 22-24 goals, if he had retained his previous accuracy. But the goal was missed. However, let’s see how Ovechkin started scoring.
Dallas: long shot on the power play while the goalie was covered.
Montreal: Ovechkin received a great pass from Strome in an empty corner when he moved to the right flank – and it was impossible not to score there.
Florida: Classic, power play from the left faceoff circle.
That is, we see that Ovi is no longer just standing in his “office,” waiting for a pass to click. He looks for different options on the pitch, maybe even going into the slot in front of the goal. And at the same time he throws, throws…
Over the last 13 matches, Ovechkin has scored 13 (5+8) points. He settled into his usual routine. Yes, Washington lost for the sixth time in a row. But little by little, Gretzky’s record is getting closer. There are only 61 goals left. My modest prediction: by the end of the championship, Ovi will score around 11 more goals and reduce the gap with Wayne to 50 goals.
Ilya Kovalchuk said in an interview with : “I am in contact with Ovi, we communicate a lot, I know his mood. And I have no doubt that he will beat Gretzky’s record. It’s just a matter of time…”
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.
