Alex Ovechkin’s Historic Season Ends Early
The Washington Capitals had one of their strongest seasons in years but fell short in the playoffs, losing to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Despite a record-breaking year for Alex Ovechkin, his dream of winning a second Stanley Cup will have to wait. On Thursday night, the Capitals were eliminated by the Hurricanes in Game 5. Carolina struck first, but Washington equalized through an unassisted goal by Anthony Beauvillier in the first period. After a scoreless second period and much of the third, Andrei Svechnikov broke the tie with two minutes left in regulation. Seth Jarvis sealed the win with an empty-net goal.
Carolina dominated the series in terms of shots, outshooting Washington 148-96 (an average of 19.2 shots per game for the Caps). For context, Washington averaged 27.6 shots per game during the regular season and 27.8 in their first-round win over Montreal. Carolina’s goalie, Frederik Andersen, was stellar, stopping 93.7% of the shots he faced and allowing only five goals.
“Freddie Andersen deserves credit,” said Washington goalie Logan Thompson. “I thought he was the better goalie in the series. I could have made a couple of saves, especially in Raleigh and tonight.”
The two goals Thompson allowed in Game 5 came from tight angles where he left too much of the goal exposed—Jordan Staal’s opener and Svechnikov’s game-winner.
The loss ended Washington’s best season in years. With 111 points, they finished as the Eastern Conference’s top team and had the second-best record in the NHL, trailing only the Winnipeg Jets. Their .677 point percentage marked their best full-season performance since 2016-17, a sharp improvement after barely scraping into the playoffs last season with just 91 points—the worst for any playoff team in five years.
Washington’s offensive revival was a key factor. After ranking 28th in goals per game (2.63) last season, the Capitals jumped to 3.49 goals per game this year, the second-best in the league. Ovechkin played a huge role, scoring 44 goals despite missing games due to an early-season leg injury. His scoring surge at age 39 helped him break Wayne Gretzky’s career goals record late in the season, after injury had initially delayed that milestone.
With Ovechkin’s remarkable form and contributions from younger players like 24-year-old Aliaksei Protas, who netted 30 goals this season, the Capitals looked set for a deep playoff run. However, their offense struggled at the worst possible time. Despite quickly dispatching the Montreal Canadiens in the first round, their scoring faltered against the Hurricanes.
“It’s tough, obviously,” Ovechkin reflected. “We have a special group, but we had chances. Maybe we didn’t execute or maybe luck wasn’t on our side. We played good hockey and had plenty of opportunities to take the lead, but it just didn’t work out.”
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