Hockey
Ovechkin’s Washington fell apart in three minutes. Playoff chances are dwindling before our eyes
The Capitals were defeated by San Jose and ended up outside the top eight in the East.
Alexander Ovechkin scored an assist in the match against San Jose. However, this did not help Washington take at least one point at home. The Capitals not only lost to the Sharks, but also left the playoff zone.
Getting back is an incredibly difficult task.
Tournament standings
Washington’s last winning streak ended on December 3rd. Since then, the Capitals have not won two games in a row and have gradually lost ground in the Eastern Conference standings. As a result, the capital’s club found itself in such a situation that if it lost to San Jose at home, it risked being eliminated from the playoff zone.
Spencer Carbery’s team has already played against the Sharks this season. Then the “sharks” suffered a painful and devastating defeat in their arena – 1:7. And one of the main characters was Washington captain Alexander Ovechkin, who scored a double. It was worth expecting effective actions from the Russian hockey player this time as well, because Ovechkin is in excellent shape: in the last five matches the forward scored 6 (5+1) points. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman even commented on the performance of the Capitals leader.
— I hope that the post-Ovechkin era will not come in the near future. This is Alex’s business. We respect any of his decisions. But I hope this season will not be the last of his NHL career. Ovi plays great,” journalist Tariq El-Bashir quotes Bettman on social networks.
However, “San Jose” clearly did not intend to just come to the US capital. Moreover, the Sharks are actively continuing to fight for a place in the playoffs in the West. And in the last eight matches the team won six victories. In many ways, the “sharks” manage to stay in the top eight thanks to 19-year-old McLean Celebrini, who rounds out the top three scorers in the league.
Washington fell apart in three minutes
In the first period the guests were more active. “San Jose” more than doubled the opponent’s goals – 11 shots on target versus five. However, following the results of the opening period of the game, the score was not opened. And here, of course, a lot of credit goes to Washington goalkeeper Logan Thompson, who is preparing to go to Italy with the Canadian national team in February.
And only in the middle of the meeting the spectators in the stands of the Capital One Arena saw the puck scored for the first time, when in the 31st minute the capital club converted the first power play. Jacob Chickran delivered the puck to Ovechkin in the office, and he immediately fired at the goal, but missed. However, the puck successfully bounced off the boards right onto the stick of Dylan Strome, and the Canadian awkwardly hit the empty corner – 1:0. For the Russian leader of the Capitals, this is his 21st assist of the season and 41st scoring point.
Perhaps this was one of the few successful moments for Washington in the second period. The rest of the time the hosts had to defend more. The guests again shot at goal more often than their opponents, making four times as many shots and hitting the target 12 times. However, three attempts were successful. First, Zach Ostapchuk equalized the score with a pass from Dmitry Orlov, then Collin Graf put the Sharks ahead.
And soon Celebrini won the fight at the front board and made a smart pass between his legs to the nickel, after which Pavol Regenda upset Thompson – 3:1. It took the “sharks” less than three minutes to change the course of the match.
In the third period, the capital club pulled one goal back thanks to Ryan Leonard. In the 50th minute, Washington’s young talent beautifully beat the opponent on the opponent’s blue line, and then with a wrist shot from under the player reduced the gap to a minimum.
But in the end, the Capitals were unable to save the match and lost to San Jose – 1:3. After the defeat, the capital club left the playoff zone, missing out on Toronto, Pittsburgh and Boston.
“At this point we’ve almost reached the 50th game, and it’s alarming because we can’t gain momentum,” Carbery noted after the match.
As for Ovechkin, the Russian finished the match with an assist and a negative utility score of “-1”. He spent 21 minutes 21 seconds on the ice, shooting on target three times during that time.
Source: Sportbox
I’m a sports enthusiast and journalist who has worked in the news industry for over 8 years. I currently work as an author at Sportish and my work focuses mainly on sports news.