The biggest stars of this second round series, but Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin could be close to stealing the show if his strong play continues.
With 12 minutes remaining in Monday’s game three between the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins, the visitors found themselves down 3-0 despite heavily out-shooting and out-playing their hosts.
This is when Alexander Ovechkin made his first major contribution in this second round match up between two hated rivals, launching a rocket of a shot from beyond the left faceoff circle over Penguins goaltender Matt Murray’s head and under the crossbar.
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The Washington Capitals would score another goal with just under one minute remaining in the game, which Ovechkin assisted on, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Capitals finished the game with two goals despite throwing 49 shots on net.
Though the narrative right now is that both Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin – the two biggest names in his series – are being kept quiet, it simply isn’t the case.
First, the big picture. In three games, Ovechkin has one goal and two assists, while Crosby has no points. But, that isn’t what this is about.
Last night, according to Pat Holden of Russian Machine Never Breaks, Alex Ovechkin was an absolute force throughout the game.
Game 3
— Paddy Holden (@pfholden) May 3, 2016
Shot attempts: Ovechkin 18, Pens 36
Scoring chances: 10, 15
WOI high danger scoring chances: 2, 4.
Yeah, that's an okay game from 8.
That’s right – Ovechkin alone recorded half the amount of shot attempts that the Penguins recorded as a team. Probably the only thing stopping Ovechkin from scoring at least one or two more goals was the incredible play of the 21 year old Murray, who has allowed just three goals over the past two games to one of the highest powered offenses in the league.
The series is now 2-1 in favor of the Penguins. This is obvious panic territory for Washington Capitals fans, but there is still a lot of reason to believe that the regular season’s best team can finally get it done in the playoffs despite this deficit. Much of that is because of Ovechkin.
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The fact of the matter is that Washington no longer needs their captain to put the entire team on his back, shouldering the entirety of the team’s successes or failures. He has always been a productive player in the postseason, but you just get the feeling that this year is going to be different – in a good way.
Ovechkin’s three points have mostly come in quiet fashion. His goal came with his team down three goals, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that he didn’t shut it down like many would like to claim that he has done in the past. Ovechkin then hit the post on a shot with just one minute remaining, leading to the puck finding its way over to a waiting Justin Williams who made it a one goal game.
On T.J. Oshie’s second goal in game one on his way to a hat-trick, Ovechkin muscled the puck over to a streaking Oshie in a way that was reminiscent of the play he made in game six in round one, which led to the only goal of that series-clinching game.
Nothing about Ovechkin’s play has been quiet in this series. He is hitting hard and often – some of those occasions resulting from frustration – but he is making an impact all over the ice nonetheless.
If Penguins defenseman Kris Letang is rightfully suspended for his blatant headshot on Marcus Johansson last night, the already thin defensive corps of the Penguins will be further depleted. Without Letang logging 25 or more minutes, Ovechkin, along with the rest of his team, are going to have a prime opportunity to light the lamp with frequency if they can build off of last night’s game and start figuring out how to beat Murray.
Next: Caps Fall In Game Three Despite Third Period Rally
No matter what you hear, Alex Ovechkin is making a big impact for the Washington Capitals in this series. It may seem like he is quiet now, but as this series progresses and the stakes become higher, it is safe to expect that Ovechkin will continue to elevate his play, and do what is necessary to help fulfill his team’s destiny.