The 38-year-old, who hit 1,500 career points in the defeat, said he takes some of the blame in a 5-4 shootout loss for the Capitals at the hands of the Stars.
The 38-year-old, who hit 1,500 career points in the defeat, said he takes some of the blame in a 5-4 shootout loss for the Capitals at the hands of the Stars.
WASHINGTON — Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin knows that goals are hard to come by right now — not just for him, but for the team. Still, he felt accountability when his team couldn't get the job done in overtime or regulation against the Dallas Stars, resulting in an ultimate 5-4 shootout loss.
Ovechkin was blunt in his postgame interview, especially when it came to his couple of chances on a late overtime power-play opportunity that proved fruitless for D.C.
"I think sometimes you kind of forget when you have those kind of shots, but if I have a chance to put the puck in I have to, you know?" he said. "It would've been great for me to put it in and for us to get two points. But I'll take the blame"
Despite the loss, Ovechkin did hit a big milestone in the defeat, picking up a secondary assist for his 1,500th career NHL point.
"It's pretty cool number," he said. "I always say, without my teammates, I would never reach it."
Still, the goal-scoring sticks with Ovechkin. The 38-year-old has just five goals through the first 23 games of the season, and for the first time in his career, is on pace to finish the campaign with under 20 goals. His last tally came on Nov. 18 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
It's not for a lack of trying, though.
"I think we're trying. We're trying to create offense," Ovechkin said. "Especially through the neutral zone, I think we should make better decisions sometimes. But how I said, we'll take all the positives from this game and move on."
And positives there were, as Washington broke out for four goals in regulation, and if not for some mistakes, could have ended a two-game slide.
"Speed was there. Puck management was there," Ovechkin pointed out. "It sucks that we lost, but I think always when you take some time, positive stuff and put it in the pocket and move on. Two points would be nice, but it is what it is."