Alex Ovechkin notched two assists against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, becoming the sixth player to join the exclusive 700 goals and 700 assists club. But talk after the Capitals’ 4-2 win focused just as much on his milestone as his position change for the night.
Ovechkin skated with Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas on the first line and he managed to have a multi-point game despite playing on his strong but unnatural side: right wing.
After the final horn sounded, Monumental Sports Network’s Al Koken asked Ovi if it made any difference if he played on the right or left.
“Not really,” Ovechkin said, “only when you have puck on the right side, it’s kinda like uncomfortable right now, but we’ll see.”
That candor continued in the locker room where he told assembled media, “First couple shift was kind of like, ‘Whoa.’ It’s always like I want to go to the left side.”
Ovechkin, right-handed, has played almost his entire 20-season career on the left wing. As a young star, he would score frequently on rushes: flying down the left wing, cutting to the center of the ice, and ripping a wrister past a screened goalie. Later in his career, Ovechkin’s become lethal from the left faceoff circle, which earned the iconic nickname Ovi’s Office.
Hockey Hall of Fame center Adam Oates was the first to tinker with Ovechkin’s position, putting him on the right during his time behind the Capitals’ bench. Ovi kept scoring despite the change, leading the league in goals both seasons he played under Oates, but he frequently seemed jarred by move, notably crashing into teammates during practices and games.
A winger playing on their strong side does have obvious benefits. It allows a player to take passes on their forehand rather than their backhand and see more of the ice in the offensive zone. It also makes it easier to play pucks along the boards in the D-zone and their backs won’t be to the play defensively so much. Chipping pucks out of the zone should be easier as well.
“I have experience to play there, but it was a long time (ago),” Ovechkin said on Monday. “But, again, (if) you start on the left or right, it doesn’t matter, because in the game you’re coming from offensive zone to D zone and you stay on the right side. So, play basically most of the time there – left or right.”
Ovechkin might still be getting used to playing on the right again, but head coach Spencer Carbery seemed happy with what he’s seen so far. Carbery praised Ovechkin’s performance against Vegas, highlighting his assist on Protas’ game-winning goal.
“I thought O was really — whether it has to do with wing or whatever — he makes that play happen on that goal,” Carbery said. “Great job using his feet, cuts back, creates some space: that’s a huge play in that moment.”
Ahead of Saturday’s game, Carbery — who in the past called himself a “traditionalist” in terms of wanting defenseman playing on their strong side — told reporters that he flipped Ovechkin for the sake of his linemate and the construction of the team.
“We just made an adjustment with the line just putting Protas there,” he said. “A lefty, trying to keep him on his strong side. We’ve got an influx of left-shot wingers, so we’re trying to tinker around with preventing one of those guys from having to play their off side.
He added, “I think it’s a small change. I find [Ovi] on both sides of the ice a lot, and so left, right, it’s not a huge deal to me.”
If Carbery opts to keep Ovechkin on the right side, he’ll have another chance to adjust to the position when the Capitals face the Dallas Stars on Thursday at 7 pm.
