Capitals hoping things ‘snowball' after Ovechkin’s first goal of season

WASHINGTON -- Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals hope that one goal can lead to many more in his final NHL season.

Ovechkin’s first goal of the season gave the Capitals the lead in the first period, but they could not sustain it in a sloppy 5-3 loss to the Seattle Kraken at Capital One Arena.

Ovechkin’s goal was the 930th of his career in 22 NHL seasons, increasing his League record total. Including his 77 goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Ovechkin now has 1,007 total goals in the NHL, moving him within nine of Wayne Gretzky (1,016) for the most combined goals in League history.

“Anytime he gets on the board is a good thing,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “We know when he gains confidence and pucks start to go in for him, that's a good thing, and it can snowball. I feel like that's one of the things that he's done an amazing job in his career of turning one goal into like a good 10-, 12-, 15-game stretch.” 

Ovechkin, who announced Monday that his will be his final NHL season, did not score in Washington’s first four games after not playing during the preseason because of a lower-body injury he sustained during training camp. The 41-year-old also didn’t score until his fifth game last season after similarly missing time during training camp because of a lower-body injury.

Carbery expressed faith in Ovechkin on Saturday, saying he was “not even close” to being concerned about his lack of a goal, and Ovechkin has been gradually finding his game since the start of the regular season. He had two of his best scoring chances of the season, but he was unable to convert in Washington’s 3-1 win against the New York Rangers on Friday. 

Then, he just missed on an open chance from the high slot with the Capitals on the power play 1:16 into the first period Sunday.

“How I said before, the training camp didn't go right way that I wanted it to be,” Ovechkin said. “But through the games you're going to find your touches, you're going to find the game rhythm. I think the last two games, we had nice chances to score, and we did.”

With the Capitals combinations altered because of the absence of center Pierre-Luc Dubois, who was ill, Ovechkin was separated from his usual center Dylan Strome and played on a line with Aliaksei Protas at left wing and 20-year-old rookie Ilya Protas at center on Sunday. The brothers combined to help Ovechkin break through to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead at 16:47 of the first period.

After Seattle goalie Joey Daccord left the puck for defenseman Ryker Evans behind the net, Aliaksei pressured Evans on the forecheck and deflected his pass attempt to Ilya at the bottom of the right circle. Ilya quickly fed Ovechkin in front for a snap shot in over Daccord’s catching glove.  

It was the first time Ovechkin scored a goal assisted by brothers and his first goal against Daccord, who became his League-record 190th different goalie he has scored against.

“I thought we were doing OK,” Ovechkin said of his line. “I think the first period was very solid, but in the second, I don't think we have much ice time because of the PKs and different stuff. But it was the first time we play (together) since last year. We take it and we move on.”

The Kraken tied the score at 2-2 with a goal from Jordan Eberle with 11 seconds left in the first period with Ovechkin’s line on the ice. Seattle then controlled play for much of the second period, taking a 3-2 lead on Frederick Gaudreau’s goal at 13:24.

Seeking a spark, Carbery started shuffling his line combinations later in the second period, but he saw some positives overall in how Ovechkin played with Aliaksei and Ilya Protas. Before assisting on Ovechkin’s goal, neither brother had a point since each had an assist in Washington’s season-opening 5-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes.

“They score a goal. That was huge for them to get on the board,” Carbery said. “They create a turnover, quick attack. So, I like that part of it. And then we were trying to find anything, so I started moving some different things around to see if there was something that would kind of give us a little bit of momentum.” 

Although the Capitals (3-2-0) tied the score with Boone Jenner’s goal 46 seconds into the third period, Jared McCann put the Kraken (4-2-0) back ahead 4-3 by scoring on the rush at 14:33 and Ryan Winterton converted on a breakaway to make it 5-3 at 17:20. 

“I think it was a great start,” Ovechkin said of the third period. “I think we had momentum, and sometimes that kind of thing happens. Obviously, we didn't play well in the second, and it was good response. So, we're going to learn from it.”