Alexander Ovechkin will now play on the right side, something Washington hasn’t seen in nearly 10 years.
Alexander Ovechkin and Spencer Carbery / Photo: © Rich Graessle / Contributor / Getty Images Sports / Gettyimages.ru
Washington’s head coach Spencer Carbury decided to send Alexander Ovechkin to the right side of the attack. This news is being discussed by many hockey media in North America, and analysts are predicting what will happen next to the Russian game. The excitement about Carbery’s decision comes from the fact that it was the last time Ovechkin he left the standard left margin almost 10 years ago!
What will it take “Washington” and Spencer’s test for the Russian himself?
It brought down the importance of a rare event
Carbery said back in the offseason that Ovechkin could go the other way. Then captain Washington even trained as a right forward. However, the coach tried to change the Russian game a lot with fear, and the experiment did not last long.
Alexander center fielder Dylan Strome admitted he didn’t even notice his team switching sides. Meanwhile, Carbery told reporters that he doesn’t plan to suddenly move Ovechkin to the right side.
– We talked to him about this. We’ll see how it works in training camp. We’ll look at a number of options,” Carbery said during the session.
However, the game with New Jersey made Spencer change his mind. At the beginning of the season, Washington lost to the Devils with a score of 3:5, which clearly angered the coach, otherwise there would have been no major changes. And Ovechkin’s playing time was 19:44 (22 moves), but he never shot a goal. And before the meeting with Vegas, it was known that the captain of the capital club would play on the right side. He was already training on a line with Alexei Protas, who took the left side, and Strome was in the middle. Alasdair himself philosophically accepted the changes. However, he said there is no need to stress about playing on the other side.
– Honestly, I don’t know if I will play on the right, on the left or in the middle. Maybe tomorrow I will play as a goalkeeper. You never know. But I think we still have options to find variety. “It’s the beginning of the year, there are new faces on the team, so we have to find the right combinations, the right chemistry, and that’s what we’re trying to do right now,” Ovechkin said.
Carbury similarly emphasized the importance of his decision.
– I think it is a small change. Don’t mind. We’ve got an influx of left sided climbers, so we’re trying to work on not letting any of those guys play out of their zone. For example, we made changes to the line, putting Protas on the left side, trying to maintain his strong side,” said Carbery on the official NHL website.
The test has already taken place
Only the fans do not understand how they can call this event very little if the last time Ovechkin played on the right side was almost 10 years ago! And Washington’s captain not only played in an unusual position, but tore the league apart. The revolutionary decision belonged to coach Adam Oates, under whom the Russians took the Hart Cup in the 2012/13 season, shortened due to the lock out, and the following year he scored 51 goals and won Maurice Richard Award.
Meanwhile, based on Alexander’s performance under Oates, one can imagine how Ovechkin’s surroundings will work under Carbury. Therefore, staying on the right side, Russia always took the position of the kicker during the opposition, and the center tried to send the puck to him immediately for a throw. During the power play, Washington’s captain also did not leave his office. And in the 2013/14 season, in an uneven line, he scored 24 goals, 16 of which were scored with one-timers from the throw-in circle on the left. In that regular season, the majority of the capital’s club took second place in the NHL – 23.4% of sales.
When he was playing at even strength, Ovechkin often fell to the left, which meant he was uncomfortable. Interestingly, after the 2013-14 season, Oates was fired because Washington didn’t make the playoffs. Then Barry Trotz came in and brought Alexander back to port.
Now Ovechkin and Carbery say this test is small. This is probably because Washington’s captain chooses a throwing position when he throws in, and for most of them he will be in his usual office. On the other hand, Spencer can count on Alexander’s constant movements across the court to confuse the opponent, and it will be easier for the captain to score.
At 39 years old, changing something, trying, cutting across the entire ice – all this looks so that after several games Carbery admits that it was a failure test. The head coach’s motivation is also confusing. He explained that he was moving Ovechkin to the other side to help the team win, and not for the Russians to break Gretzky’s record. Although, again, the 2013/14 season says otherwise. So far, it looks like Carbery is just floating and doesn’t know what to do with the Capitals and Alexander game.
2024-10-15 16:37:00
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