Capitals coach Spencer Carbury criticizes Ovechkin after game 2

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Cooper Godin
April 24, 2024 (1:06 PM)

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The Washington Capitals came into Game 2 at Madison Square Garden ready and recharged with an opportunity to tie the series up at 1-1 right in front of them. However, the opposite happened and now the Capitals find themselves in a 2-0 hole they'll need to climb out of.

During Tuesday's game, with the Rangers up 3-2, Alexander Ovechkin turned over the puck to Mika Zibanejad, passing the K'Andre Miller, who extended New York's lead to 4-2.

It certainly wasn't a good look for Ovechkin, as Miller's tally stood as the game-winner, giving the Rangers a 2-0 series lead. After the game, Ovechkin met with the media and was asked about his turnover which led to the Miller goal. Ovechkin said that while it was a weird and lucky bounce, he needs to play a bit safer to avoid that happening again.

"Yeah, it was kind of weird bounce and I think Zibanejad played stick on stick and how I said, lucky bounce, but I have to play safer, especially in that kind of moment." Ovechkin said according to Sammi Silber of The Hockey News.

Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbury took to the podium following the Game 2 loss and said that Ovechkin has looked off and has struggled in the first two games of the series. He went on to add that with the team heading back to Washington for Games 3 and 4, it'll be an opportunity for his captain to "flip it" and get back to his normal self, with them having the ability to control the matchup a bit.

"I thought the first two games he looks a little bit off. He's struggling. It's hard. It's the playoffs, on the road, he's getting a tough matchup. But we're going back home now, and we'll get an opportunity to be able to control the matchup for him. He can flip it." Carbury said.

Through two games in the series, Ovechkin has no points and only one shot on goal, which is not normal for one of hockey's greatest goal scorers. In Game 1, Ovechkin was held without a shot for the first time since May 2018 and the team is hoping that he'll be able to put the puck in the back of the net in front of the home fans. If Washington is going to get back into this series, they'll need their captain to pick things up in a big way.