Leonard has chance to make history with Ovechkin for Capitals against Stars

ARLINGTON, Va. -- Ryan Leonard joined the Washington Capitals last season in time to have a front-row seat for Alex Ovechkin breaking the NHL goal record.

It appears the 20-year-old rookie will soon get a chance to play on the same line with Ovechkin, who is chasing another NHL milestone, when Washington (6-3-0) visits the Dallas Stars (5-3-1) at American Airlines Center as part of an ESPN tripleheader on Tuesday (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN).

With Ovechkin’s usual center Dylan Strome, out day to day with a lower-body injury he sustained in the first period of a 7-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, the Capitals shuffled their line combinations at practice Monday. Connor McMichael took Strome’s spot at center with Leonard on Ovechkin’s opposite wing.

“Obviously, when you have a chance to play alongside one of the greats of all time, you try not to take it for granted, and not really change what I’m doing,” Leonard said. “But maybe look to get him the puck if it happens tomorrow.”

Leonard acknowledged that playing on the same line with Ovechkin, who needs one goal to become the first player to reach 900 in the NHL, is not something he ever dreamed about growing up.

“It’s pretty cool, though,” Leonard said.

Leonard, selected No. 8 by Washington in the 2023 NHL Draft, has experienced a lot of cool things since signing on March 31 following his sophomore season at Boston College. He made his NHL debut the following night against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden in Boston.

Ovechkin scored a goal in that game and in the next three as well, including his 895th on April 6 at the New York Islanders to surpass Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history. When Ovechkin scored twice against the Chicago Blackhawks on April 4 to tie Gretzky with 894, Leonard also scored his first NHL goal -- an empty-netter with 1:36 remaining in a 5-3 victory -- and got his photo taken with Gretzky afterward.

That turned out to be Leonard’s lone goal and point in nine regular-season games last season, though, and he was limited to one assist in eight games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Having learned from his experiences last season, Leonard has been contributing more this season. Through his first nine games, Leonard has five points (three goals, two assists), including points in four straight games (two goals, two assists), while averaging 12:37 of ice time. Two of Leonard’s three goals were game-winners.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Leonard said Monday. “Production is a lot better. I didn’t really feel at my best the past two games, like pleased with my performance, but it’s still early. Hopefully, each and every game just my touches get better and better, especially decision-making, learning when to do something and when to just live to fight another day and just chip it out. So, it’s definitely a learning curve.”

Capitals coach Spencer Carbery has seen the growth in Leonard’s game from last season, particularly in his production, but believes there’s more room for improvement in other parts of his game.

“I think he was in a better spot than he was last year, no doubt,” Carbery said. “I think he’s more confident with the puck. He’s been able to get on the board a few times, so I think that’s helped. But still, it is a process, and it’s not an overnight and it’s not a 20-game thing.”

Carbery noted that if Leonard was a rookie on a rebuilding team, it would be easier for him to play through his mistakes while going through that process. The Capitals are not in that position, though, after going 51-22-9 to finish first in the Eastern Conference last season before losing in the second round of the playoffs.

Washington (6-3-0) hopes to take the next step this season, so the mistakes while learning are harder to absorb from young players such as Leonard.

“It’s one thing if you’re playing on a team that’s rebuilding and it’s like, ‘If we win tonight, great. If we don’t, no big deal,’” Carbery said. “You’re going to take your licks and you’re going to turn it over and you’re going to make a bunch of mistakes, but you’re also going to accumulate games. You’re going to get confidence. You’re going to learn. This is great. You’re developing. You’re getting better and our team is looking to the future.

“Not the situation here for Ryan Leonard. So, that is such a different scenario and a more challenging scenario for him to learn on the fly.”

Carbery believes Leonard can be effective while he’s learning to become a more complete player, though, which is among the reasons he thinks he could be a good fit on a line with Ovechkin.

“He’s a good player. He has a great skill set,” Carbery said. “He’s got a ton of talent, can keep pucks alive, can get through the neutral zone with control, can do a lot of things offensively that can help a line. It’s just a matter with ‘Leno’, as he continues to learn on the fly and develop on the fly in NHL on a team that’s expecting to be productive every night, it’s just trying to learn from the positional stuff, some of the wall play stuff, and, hopefully, that continues to take steps in the right direction.”