Alexander Ovechkin played as a right winger for the first time in 10 years. The Washington captain spent part of the game against Vegas like this and was immediately able to score a double assist!
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“My goodness, a force to be reckoned with.” The United States is delighted with Ovechkin’s achievement
Will Ovi really be able to prove himself in his new position? Why did the Capitals coaching staff cut the left forward in the first place? How did Ovechkin perform the last time he played right?
Let’s figure it out.
“I don’t know. We just mixed all the links”
Washington head coach Spencer Carbery decided to move the forward to the right in the second game of the season. In the opening game played with New Jersey, Ovechkin scored his first point in the 2024/2025 regular season, giving an assist. In addition, the capital captain became the best hockey player in the game in terms of number of power movements. He has seven hits to his name, more than twice as fast as his closest pursuers.
A problem. For the 23rd time in his career, Alex failed to take a single shot on goal. And this became a real problem.
Even during training camp in mid-September, Carbery said he would consider moving Ovechkin to right wing: “We talked about it. Let’s see how it works on the training field. Let’s look at some different options.”
And now, after the game with the Devils, the coach made his decision. For the game against Vegas, Ovi played on the right side, along with left winger Alexei Protas and center back Dylan Strome.
“I don’t know,” Ovechkin said when asked about moving to right wing. – We simply mix all the links.
Well, I have experience playing at right back, but that was many years ago. But it doesn’t matter if you start on the left or the right, because as the game progresses you go from the offensive zone to the defensive zone and stay on the right side. You basically play there most of the time.
Alexander Ovechkin
Photo: Patrick Smith/Getty Images
I honestly don’t know if I will play on the right, left or center. Maybe tomorrow I will play as a goalkeeper. We never know. But I think we still have options to find combinations. “It’s the beginning of the year, there are new faces on the team, so we need to find the right combinations, the right chemistry, and that’s what we’re trying to do now,” Ovechkin said before the game against Las Vegas.
It seems that Alexander has accepted the situation in which he will have to play on the right.
“I think it’s a slight change. I see him a lot on both sides of the ice, so left or right, I don’t really care,” Carbery said.
The coach also noted that the change in the combinations of the first and third trio was more due to the desire of the left-handed Protas to play on the left flank, after having played games in the third trio on the right.
“We have an influx of left-footed wingers, so we’re working to make sure none of those guys play on the wrong flank,” the coach admitted.
Protas himself, by the way, adopted a responsible attitude towards this coach’s decision. Alexei, who played all three offensive positions during his four seasons in Washington, said he will try to complement Ovechkin and Strome on each end of the ice.
“I think I have to help Ovechkin and Strome as best I can. Just play hard, win battles and try to help them everywhere. “I just try to do it the best I can, the best way I can,” he said.
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Therefore, the decision to move Ovi to the right flank, at least temporarily, is more than logical and understandable. But how did Alexander perform 10 years ago, the last time he played this position?
Two Maurice Richards, the last Hart and the worst performance of his career
Ovechkin is an established left winger. He spent almost all of his 20 NHL seasons on this wing. And he scored some 770 goals as a left back.
But Ovi played at right back for two seasons. This happened in the 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 campaigns. Then Washington legend Adam Oates, who had just taken over the club, was looking for options to restart the captain’s career.
Having started actively in the NHL, Ovechkin became depressed in his sixth year in the league. He scored more than 50 goals in a season four times and never lowered the bar below 46 goals in five regular seasons. But in the 2010/2011 campaign, Ovi found itself in a serious crisis. Bruce Boudreau’s unfortunate decisions, as well as the hockey player’s personal and playing problems, led Alex to record one of the worst results of his career. During that season, the forward scored only 32 goals in 79 games.
The following year, Bruce Boudreau was replaced by Dale Hunter, who, according to Ovechkin himself, was the worst coach of his career. And the situation has not changed much: only 38 goals in 78 games. Despite the slight increase in performance, the overall score indicators, on the contrary, seriously fell. Under Boudreau the year before, Ovi was able to score 85 points; With Hunter everything got even worse: the forward scored a measly 65 points. This is the worst result in the forward’s career, if the shortened seasons are not taken into account (on par with the last regular season, when the player was already 38 years old).
Alexander Ovechkin in his youth
Photo: Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images
Hunter, naturally, did not stay in Washington and Oates was taken in his place. It was in this situation that the new helmsman of the capital decided to try something new.
The beginning was difficult. Ovechkin had difficulty getting used to playing on the right flank and even occasionally bumped into his teammates, both in training and in matches.
Alexander finished his first season on the right wing with 32 goals. “Failure!” – you say. You are welcome! That regular season, if you remember, was shortened due to the 2012 lockout. Ovechkin did it in just 48 games; only four times in 19 seasons did he achieve a better scoring average. The Washington captain then won his fourth Maurice Richard Trophy, the award being the first for a hockey player in three years.
In addition, the forward was also awarded the Hart Trophy, which became the third in his career. And finally.
“Would you have become the most valuable player of the season if you hadn’t switched to playing on the right wing? Well, it’s hard to say. Changing positions was not easy for me. We tried to find the best option for me.
for this [за награду] I have to thank Oates. It was he who insisted that I play on the right. So my success is not only my merit, but also that of the coaching staff, my partners and everyone in general. The transition to the right flank was difficult, but it worked, so I’m very happy.
Now I feel like I am the same as before again. Special credit for this goes to Oates. Last night [когда выиграл «Харт»] He was the first person I called, after my family of course.
As soon as I arrived at the club I told him that I would support him, that I would trust him. He replied that I just need to listen to it and everything will be fine. I did just that. And now I’m almost completely fine,” Ovechkin said in the summer of 2013, noting the importance of changing positions.
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However, the forward failed in the playoffs. In seven games of the first round series with the Rangers, Ovechkin scored only 2 (1+1) points and was silent when his help was needed most. In the seventh match, the capitalians really fell from grace: 0-5 and an embarrassing elimination in the first round.
In the 2013/2014 season, the experiment continued and Ovechkin even managed to reach the 50-goal mark again. Alexander scored 51 goals in 78 games, won the fifth from Maurice Richard and has finally returned to his previous level. But the experiment itself can be considered a failure.
Because?
First of all, because of Ovechkin’s defensive play. The forward finished that season with a utility score of -35, the third worst in that championship and the absolute worst in a hockey player’s career. Ovi was repeatedly criticized, as if he had forgotten how to play in defense and in equal compositions, although in the majority he became a truly formidable force.
Well, at the same time, Washington missed the playoffs for the first time in six years.
Here the experiments with the Ovechkin position ended. They helped the striker regain his previous high level, but at the same time showed how destructive such a move can be for a team.
How did Ovi perform in his first game on the right wing in 10 years?
Now what Ovechkin and Washington need is a change of position
If we look solely at the statistics, it seems that the plan really worked. Ovechkin gave two assists, and in the second case, when Protas scored his goal, the captain of the “capital” handled it simply brilliantly, as in his best years!
You can watch the video on the official NHL website. Video rights belong to NHL Enterprises, LP.
The striker also became the best player of the match in terms of number of shots and power movements, on both teams. Ovi hit the Las Vegas goal six times and also made six hits.
Moreover, judging not only by statistics, but also purely visually, Ovechkin looked fresher and faster than, for example, at the beginning of last season. From time to time the forward made threats, as in previous years.
However, there is one fact that completely changes the picture. Ovechkin carried out both effective actions from the left flank. He also played left on the power play. Well, during the match against Vegas, he periodically returned to his home flank.
What could this mean?
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Of course, more time is needed to unravel all of Carbery’s ideas, but for now the situation seems to be as follows.
Ovechkin will not be strictly tied to the right flank. Switching sides could potentially help him by putting him in different areas of the ice where defenders aren’t used to seeing him. In theory, this will improve Ovi’s performance. Technically, the first match proves it. So maybe playing a different position will help him start the regular season better and avoid last year’s failures. Especially given some of the captain’s freshness, which is likely a consequence of proper preparation for the season.
In addition, Alexander’s move to the right allowed Protas to advance from the third line to the first, and thanks to this, Carbery received more room for imagination and composition of combinations. For example, Andrew Mangiapane, who played with Ovechkin and Strome in training camp, teamed up with Jakub Vrana, who had returned to the team.
Carbery’s new tactics have already paid off. In the game against the Golden Knights, Khlebushek competed for the puck near the boards and, without looking, clumsily passed it to the Czech, and Vrana put it in the goal.
You can watch the video on the official NHL website. Video rights belong to NHL Enterprises, LP.
Perhaps this is exactly the effect Washington’s coaching staff is trying to achieve. If this is the case, if this will continue to contribute to achieving the desired result, if it will help Ovechkin to experience a new youth, why not?
“For me, changing positions is not important. The first few turns I thought, “Wow!” I’m always drawn to the left flank, but we’ll see how it goes,” Ovechkin said after the match.
Maybe he really doesn’t care. No one else in Washington cares either. The main thing is that it brings results.
It seems that the inhabitants of the capital were missing precisely these fresh, unusual and daring ideas. In the last two years, it has been clear that Washington is playing the same game, as if it had no plan “B”, and it has long been understood. The new thoughts were not really visible.
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And new thoughts, fresh blood: these are the true engines that allow you to grow and progress.
The Capitals have finally decided to make some serious changes. Having started the restructuring with an aging squad, which was no longer “exportable”, unable to bring anything new to the game, the teams now switched to tactics and game plans. So it will be really interesting to follow this team in the 2024/2025 season.
All that remains is for Ovechkin to score again. And perhaps Carbery’s idea will help here too.
