Point de vue | Les Rangers ont balayé les Capitals, et il est temps pour le nouveau noyau de prendre les commandes
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washingtonpost
@Capitals de Washington
Point de vue | Les Rangers ont balayé les Capitals, et il est temps pour le nouveau noyau de prendre les commandes
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washingtonpost
4 Comments
In his 24 playoff series over 19 seasons, Alex Ovechkin — the greatest goal scorer of his generation, embarking on a quest to become the most prolific ever over the final two seasons of his career — had never failed to score at least one measly goal. Scoring goals is what defines him, what fuels him. When he sniffs one out, the scent gets stronger, and he goes for more.
But in the Washington Capitals’ sweep at the hands of the New York Rangers, which ended with [Sunday night’s 4-2 loss](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/04/28/rangers-capitals-stanley-cup-playoffs-game-4/?itid=sf_sports_top-table_p001_f002&itid=lk_inline_manual_4), Ovechkin couldn’t find the net, not once. It’s symbolic, really, because the four straight first-round losses that ushered the Caps out of these Stanley Cup playoffs showed that this franchise, defined by Ovechkin for so long, is in need of transition. And soon.
“I didn’t play well,” Ovechkin said.
The Caps’ core won the Cup. The Caps’ core can do it no more. Let’s go, kids. It’s time.
Read more here: [https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/04/28/capitals-swept-by-rangers/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com](https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/04/28/capitals-swept-by-rangers/?utm_campaign=wp_main&utm_medium=social&utm_source=reddit.com)
On the one hand, yes, we can’t win with the old core still being the engine of the team. On the other hand, the young ones are going to have to step up and take it from them.
Let’s just be clear on one thing though. Ovi still scored a team-leading 31 goals this year. In fact, he has still *never* had a season in which he scored fewer than 30 goals (or 30-goal pace… 24 goals in a 56-game COVID season is 35 goal pace). He has led the team in goals every single year of his tenure here (except for a tie with Oshie in 2016-17). That’s an absurd feat. He has more hockey to give, and should continue being an important piece of our team for the remainder of his contract.
That said, the article’s point that he isn’t the Ovi he was early in his career (or during the Cup era) is valid — we won’t win if we expect him to singlehandedly carry the offense. I’d actually love it if he *doesn’t* lead the team in goals next year… not because his production has tailed off, but because we actually have another legit 30-40 goal scorer and learn how to balance the load better.
well, yeah