It was reported on Tuesday (Nov. 19) that Washington Capitals’ star ahead Alex Ovechkin will likely be out week-to-week with a lower-body harm following a collision halfway via the third interval of Monday’s sport in opposition to the Utah Hockey Membership. Washington completed with a 6-2 win, which appeared secondary to questions concerning their captain who limped off the ice on one skate. Whereas Washington’s NHL-leading offense was boosted by Ovechkin, he was not all the arsenal the Capitals current to challengers.
Prime-six ahead Connor McMichael, 23, is having fun with the beginning of a breakout season with 12 purpose celebrations in 2024. 5 different teammates outdoors of Ovechkin have recorded at the least 5 targets this season for Washington. Spencer Carbery’s workforce must hold the offense flowing to remain close to the highest of the Metropolitan Division throughout Ovechkin’s stint away from the workforce.
Ovechkin’s Amazingly Wholesome 20-12 months NHL Profession
On the play the place the harm occurred, Ovechkin had his left leg outstretched following a flip whereas reaching to poke a free puck away from an oncoming ahead within the Capitals defensive zone. Concurrently, Jack McBain, a 6-foot-3, 201-pound ahead for Utah, was chasing (and ) the puck earlier than trying to keep away from Washington’s captain on the final second. McBain pirouetted out of the collision whereas Ovechkin collapsed ahead to the ice in clear discomfort earlier than being helped off by the medical employees and teammates.
For Ovechkin, the timing of the harm couldn’t have come at a worse time. Washington’s chief entered the third interval in search of a hat trick in back-to-back video games. He scored back-to-back targets break up between the primary and second intervals, which was his 177th profession multi-goal sport trailing solely Wayne Gretzky’s 189 two-goal outputs.
Ovechkin is the primary participant in NHL historical past with 100 profession multi-goal highway video games. https://t.co/FbCnTmfDoJ
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) November 19, 2024
Ovechkin has appeared in 1,444 common season video games and 151 playoff battles whereas lacking solely 35 video games as a consequence of harm. In accordance with Capitals Outsider’s tracker, he has missed 24 further video games together with three suspensions from the NHL, three contests for skipping All-Star Recreation festivities, and one sport for oversleeping as a punishment from the Capitals group. He has by no means missed an NHL playoff sport.
Total, Washington’s celebrity has missed lower than a full NHL season’s price of video games in his profession with 59 absences. With the week-to-week harm prognosis, that tiny whole will climb larger till Ovechkin returns to the lineup. The Capitals are 26-29-4 in regular-season video games with out him within the lineup during the last 20 years.
Washington’s Offense Nonetheless Useful With out Ovechkin
Sure, Ovechkin has caught fireplace with seven targets over his final 5 video games to take the NHL scoring lead in early November 2024. Nonetheless, earlier than his bonanza of targets, the Capitals’ offense was nonetheless effectively churning out wins as a result of efficiency of Dylan Strome, Connor McMichael, and Tom Wilson.
Strome may even see his assists whole fall again to earth a bit with out Ovechkin on his line, nonetheless, the 2015 first-round decide continues to be on tempo to high 20 targets for the fourth-straight season. Whereas it’s extremely double that Strome reaches the absurd 100 assists and 128 factors from ESPN’s projection, the 27-year-old middle will nonetheless have proficient threats to go the puck to on this Capitals workforce whereas awaiting the NHL’s premier scoring menace to return.
Associated: Capitals’ Enhancements to Begin 2024-25 Have Staying Energy
In accordance with those self same ESPN fashions, McMichael is headed for a 50-plus purpose season in 2024-25. With 12 targets up to now, he’s already two-thirds, or 66%, to his season-high of 18 targets set final season via solely 18 video games this season. If he efficiently reaches ESPN’s 55-goal prediction, he would possibly problem for the NHL scoring crown alongside the title of the highest “Connor” within the NHL. He was unwilling to take the entire credit score earlier this month. “Enjoying with Doobie (Dubois) and Willy (Tom Wilson), they make it very easy for me,” he advised Sammi Silber of The Hockey Information. “I imply, these guys are two of the most effective gamers at puck possession and getting the puck again. So when we’ve got the puck, it’s not onerous to make performs.”
Whereas Wilson continues to be scoreless in November, the 30-year-old longtime Capitals veteran has nonetheless contributed to Washington’s profitable begin. He averages a hard-nosed 18:30 time on ice that possible ought to inflate a bit in Ovechkin’s absence. His 53 hits have him inside the highest 25 of the NHL hits leaderboard presently dominated by the Vancouver Canucks’ Kiefer Sherwood’s 105 hits.
The Capitals lead the NHL in scoring with 4.33 video games per sport. Washington goalies Charlie Lindgren and Logan Thompson have allowed a mixed 2.78 targets per sport, tied for Eighth-best within the NHL. If Ovechkin’s NHL-leading 15 targets have been faraway from Washington’s 78 targets this season, the Capitals would nonetheless have 63 fist-bump celebrations, a mean of three.5 targets per sport. That adjusted whole would nonetheless place sixth within the NHL.
Capitals “Week-to-Week” Schedule
With the chief of the Metropolitan Division struggling an harm to its largest star, Washington might want to battle a few of the NHL’s greatest groups with out their on-ice chief. Some necessary battles are looming forward with a few of the greatest groups the Japanese Convention has to supply over the subsequent 4 weeks.
The Capitals (13-4-1) end out this upcoming weekend at Capital One Area with video games in opposition to the Colorado Avalanche (10-9-0) and New Jersey Devils (12-7-2) on a two-game homestand. Subsequent week features a highway journey to battle the Florida Panthers (12-5-1) and Tampa Bay Lightning (9-6-1) earlier than returning house to D.C. for a Black Friday afternoon matinee in opposition to the New York Islanders (7-7-4). November’s schedule closes with a highway rematch in opposition to the Devils the subsequent evening.
December opens up with the San Jose Sharks (6-10-4) and rookie Macklin Celebrini enjoying in opposition to Washington for the primary time. The Capitals journey to Canada for back-to-back fights in Toronto (11-6-2) and Montreal (7-10-2) on Dec. 6 and Dec. 7. Three weeks following Ovechkin’s harm features a house sport with the Buffalo Sabres (8-9-1) earlier than a Western Convention flight to Dallas (11-6-0) and Chicago (6-11-1).
With Metropolitan Division groups like New Jersey, the New York Rangers, and the Carolina Hurricanes displaying no indicators of slowing down, Washington might want to proceed to generate offense at a excessive stage to compete with the most effective within the East. Even with a possible drop in targets from shedding their high purpose scorer, Washington appears geared up to deal with the week-to-week Ovechkin harm.
