Spencer Carbery tells hard truth about Alexander Ovechkin's point production
The Washington Capitals were beaten 4-0 by the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of their second-round playoff series Saturday night and they are falling behind 2-1 in the series.
While it was the first shutout of the series, it also marked the third straight game without a goal from Alex Ovechkin and even if he led the team with four goals in the first-round series against Montreal, he has yet to find the back of the net in the second round.
His line is centered by Dylan Strome who also has struggled to produce despite seeing some improvement in Game 3 and head coach Spencer Carbery noted that although they didn't score, their play was better from a process standpoint.
«I mean, probably last night is their best game,» Caps head coach Spencer Carbery said Sunday. «They get the one chance off the face-off on the back door. [Ovechkin] gets a couple at the net front. I think overall, just his line - Stromer's line relies a lot on entries and creating off of entries. And you're just not going to get very many of those against the Carolina Hurricanes with their gap control and the length and the size of their D.
"[His line has] to really, really work in the offensive zone"
In Game 3, Ovechkin and his line dominated five-on-five play against Carolina's top line by out-chancing them significantly and Alex Ovechkin led all skaters with 0.76 expected goals, but the Capitals couldn't capitalize.
Line combinations have been a work in progress since Alex Ovechkin and Dlan Strome started the playoffs with Anthony Beauvillier, but he was replaced by Aliaksei Protas after Game 1 against Carolina.
Neither winger has provided much offense and Protas has no five-on-five shot attempts in two games, and Anthony Beauvillier hasn't registered a point in his last four.
Spencer Carbery hinted at potential changes but is cautious not to disrupt season-long chemistry and with Game 4 approaching, the Capitals are hoping to spark their top line before it's too late.
Washington will hold an optional skate Monday morning ahead of the 7 p.m. puck drop and line changes, if any, will likely be revealed during pregame warmups.
| POLL | ||
MAI 12 | 41 ANSWERS Spencer Carbery tells hard truth about Alexander Ovechkin's point production Do you think Alex Ovechkin will bounce back in the series against the Carolina Hurricanes? | ||
| Yes | 31 | 75.6 % |
| No | 10 | 24.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
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