The unsuccessful start to the Stanley Cup playoffs was marked by harsh criticism of Alexander.
Before the third match of the NHL playoff series between Washington and the New York Rangers, Capitals leader Alexander Ovechkin is under enormous pressure.
The Russian team is losing 0-2, and many experts blame the captain and leading sniper of the club for such an unsuccessful start to the series.
“We’ve been in this situation before”
After two away games with the Rangers, Ovechkin’s statistics look depressing. The Capitals’ captain was not productive, and the team went home with two losses. Moreover, Alexander made only one shot on target. Ten more attempts were lost. At the same time, the Russian consistently spent more than 19 minutes on the ice.
Because of such terrible statistics, Ovechkin set a personal anti-record. Never before had he started the playoffs without points in the first two matches. One shot during this period also became the worst result in the Russian’s entire career. But Alexander urges us not to panic.
“I think we need to calm down a little.” We need to be more patient because we know we are playing against a good hockey team. They will get under the pucks and play hard against our top lines. We need to act more simply; if we have the puck, we don’t need to get rid of it right away. We need to find corridors. We’ve been in this situation before, so we know how to deal with it,” Ovechkin said after the second game.
Alexander Ovechkin / Photo: © Danny Murphy / Icon Sportswire / imago-images.de / Global Look Press
“He’s got problems”
Ovechkin’s opinion after Washington’s two defeats was not supported by everyone. Moreover, not only fans, but also experts from authoritative publications are trashing the Russian legend.
— Alex Ovechkin has not yet joined the work. The start of the series was really disappointing for him. It hurts! The striker had the weakest start to the playoffs of his career, wrote journalist Tariq El-Bashir.
Sports editor Ben Strober spoke even more harshly about the prospects of the capital team.
“Nobody wants to hear this, but Washington won’t win anything until Ovechkin breaks Gretzky’s record,” Strober opined.
But the opinion of journalists is primarily interesting to the audience. Hockey players pay less attention to them. But criticism from close people can hurt even Ovechkin. Immediately after the defeat, Washington head coach Spencer Carbery publicly criticized Alexander.
“In the first two games he looks a little out of place. He has problems,” Carbery said.
Alexander Ovechkin / Photo: © Danny Murphy / Icon Sportswire / imago-images.de / Global Look Press
The former coach of the capital’s squad, Bruce Boudreau, under whose leadership Ovechkin played from 2007 to 2012, did not stand aside. The Canadian coach said that Alexander is no longer able to perform at the same level.
“He physically cannot do what his mind wants him to do.” He has a very high hockey IQ, but he stands on the ice and barely moves. I just wanted to go down and have a conversation with him, since he doesn’t try to create chances, instead he waits for them.
At 38, he may not be able to perform with the same energy as before. He stands still and shoots pucks, but the Rangers are playing too fast. He simply doesn’t have enough time to get away from guardianship,” The Athletic quotes Boudreau as saying.
Such pressure can break anyone, but not Ovechkin. Even this season, he demonstrated the ability to abstract from the external background and improve literally before our eyes. All is not lost in the series with the Rangers. However, if Alexander really wants to turn the tide of the confrontation, he must do this in the next match.
