James Guillory — USA TODAY Sports
Ovechkin Opens Up About Scoring Struggles & Hitting Reset With Break, Hopeful He Can Return To Form In Crucial Second Half For Capitals
ARLINGTON, V.A. — For Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, the All-Star Break was a much-needed reset.
With some time away in Dubai, where he rode camels and spent time with family, Ovechkin was able to not only reflect but also refresh as he got some time away from the game.
"I saw family, my wife see her family and we spend great time with friends and enjoy our time," Ovechkin said, adding, "Don't think about hockey, don't think about the system and all that kind of stuff. It was a great week, and right now, you can see everybody's fresh."
After all, the start of the season was by no means what the 38-year-old was hoping for, as he sat in unfamiliar territory while struggling to find the back of the net.
Through 44 games, he has just nine goals and his shooting percentage also plummeted to a career-low six percent. He is on pace for just 16 goals this season, which would mark the first time in his 19-year career that he would fail to reach 20.
When it comes to exactly what's been going wrong, Ovechkin doesn't have an exact reason but did acknowledge that things haven't been going his way so far this season.
"Obviously, it's up to me what I have to do better to get those shots go in," Ovechkin noted. "Sometimes, maybe you're not going to have 100 percent chances, but you have to use it."
The captain, while still racking up 151 shots this year, isn't shooting the puck as much as he was last season, often opting to pass first. A lot of his attempts have also been blocked or have gone wide of the net.
It's not just Ovechkin, though; Washington has struggled to generate much at 5-on-5 on all four lines, The Capitals average just 2.38 goals per game, the second-lowest total in the league.
Recommended Articles
For head coach Spencer Carbery, the answer to those woes has admittedly led to "sleepless nights," but are also pushing him to find an answer.
"Would we have one or two more wins (if Ovechkin had more goals)? Potentially, but you could also say that for a lot of guys," head coach Spencer Carbery noted, adding, "'Why is his shooting percentage low this year? How can I help him?' We're working on some different things with getting him in situations to score more 5-on-5."
For Ovechkin, it's just a matter of making the most of his opportunities and amid the struggles, he is still finding ways to contribute. The Russian has 22 assists and is tied with Dylan Strome for the team lead in points, and T.J. Oshie also noted that Ovechkin has still been able to have an impact despite his struggles.
"He hasn't seemed like he's getting necessarily frustrated... I think attention to detail and affecting the games in other ways is very important. His presence alone is a factor for other teams," Oshie pointed out. "The scoring will start coming, and when it does, you know not many people can score at the pace he can."
Ovechkin also said that he's been able to settle on the right stick and knows what he has to do to succeed on the ice and that hopefully now, all it takes is one shot to open the floodgates.
"When the first goal goes in, you feel much comfortable and you feel much, much better with your game," he said. "I know what I have to do."
At the end of the day, the captain said he is ready to compete in what's going to be an intense second half for the Capitals, who sit seven points out of a playoff spot but still have faith that they can rally and climb back up the standings.
"We want to be fighting for the Cup," Ovechkin said. "It's up to us what and how we want to play... we have to use our chances, we have to play smarter on D and in the neutral zone and don't make stupid mistakes, stupid decisions and it's not going to cost us."
