Spencer Carbery says Alex Ovechkin’s rare shifts off Capitals’ second-unit power play were purely situational
The Washington Capitals received five power plays in their 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Opening Night at Capital One Arena. During a couple of those ultimately unsuccessful man-advantage opportunities, eyebrows were raised after Caps captain
Ovechkin has rarely missed any power-play action with the Capitals under head coach Spencer Carbery the past two seasons, averaging the NHL’s highest amount of ice time (4:22) while up a man. Given his and Ovechkin’s past track record, Carbery was questioned about the seemingly new strategy after Wednesday’s loss.
“I thought just a couple times — I’m monitoring his shift lengths — so he had a 5-on-5 shift, then a power play, right back-to-back,” Carbery said. “So that puts him in a tough spot from playing three minutes in a row. Same thing on that 5-on-3 where he’s out there for the 5-on-4, then the 5-on-3, and then we come back out. Those are times where, look, I’ve got to help him.
“It’s not quantity, it’s quality with O now at this point in his career, so it’s my job to find him that quality. I have to make sure that his minutes are where they need to be, and we’re utilizing him in the spots to use his strengths and what he does at an elite level at this point in his career.”
Ovechkin still played the most power-play ice time of any player in the game, spending 6:22 over the boards with Bruins players in the sin bin. During those minutes, the league’s all-time leader in power-play goals (326) was shut down by Boston’s penalty kill, failing to record a shot and only notching two shot attempts.
While Carbery may be more proactive about finding more rest for Ovechkin during The Great 8’s age-40 season, he emphasized that he still believes the team’s power play will always be stronger with the legendary winger on the ice. Ovechkin led the Capitals in power-play goals last season (14) despite missing 17 games primarily due to the broken leg he suffered in November.
“For sure [just] situational,” Carbery said. “He’ll play most of the time on that second unit, I would bet. It’s purely, purely situational because at the end of the day, there’s a lot of times where he’s tired. No one else in the league, other than maybe Willy Nylander, plays the full two minutes, right?
“So at that minute mark, most guys are tired and go off, right? He’s no different. He’s a human being. He’s tired, too. But his tired on the power play is better than most people’s fresh, so that’s where you use him when he’s a little bit fatigued, and you can use his shot.”
Ovechkin himself sounded completely unconcerned about maybe taking a little more time off in games this year. “We’re going to try different things, and we’ll see what’s going to work,” he said.
At the end of regulation, Ovechkin finished with 18:16 of total ice time, good for sixth best on the team overall and third best among just Capitals forwards. The only forwards that skated more than him were Tom Wilson (22:15) and Aliaksei Protas (19:16), who played at all three strengths on Wednesday.
Ovechkin finished the 21st season-opening game of his career with three shots on goal, nine shot attempts, one individual scoring chance, two hits, and one drawn penalty. He remains three goals shy of becoming the first player in NHL history to record 900 career goals.
Ex-Vikings QB Daniel Jones Sends Strong Message on Kevin O’Connell
After Daniel Jones‘ stint with the New York Giants came to an end, the consensus seemed to be that he’d be a career backup for the rest of his playing days in the NFL. He landed with the Minnesota Vikings last season after playing in the first 10 games for the Giants and being released.
Jones was an insurance option for the Vikings to play behind Sam Darnold after rookie J.J. McCarthy went down with a season-ending injury during the preseason. He never ended up making an appearance in a Vikings uniform and signed a one-year deal with the Indianapolis Colts to share the quarterback room with Anthony Richardson.
The move to Indianapolis proved to be a game-changer for Jones, as he beat Richardson for the starting job and has been red-hot to start the 2025 campaign for the Colts, winning four of the first five games of the season while putting up some impressive numbers.
Daniels Jones Reveals Vital Impact of Playing for Vikings’ Kevin O’Connell
Jones never got to take the field as a quarterback for the Vikings during his short stint with the team, but there’s no question that head coach Kevin O’Connell and his coaching staff left a lasting impression on the veteran quarterback, as he told Ryan Fitzpatrick and Andrew Whitworth on Fitz & Witz.
“Then, going to Minnesota, I saw how Sam prepared,” Jones said. “How Kevin prepared those guys. Josh McCown. Grant Udinski. That crew and how detailed they were day in and day out on every little bit of the plan, and how they’re going to study it. What they’re looking for, walking through and quizzing each other in the quarterback room.
“That made a big impression on me, and I was like, ‘This is maybe the next level of some of that stuff.’ I think that changed. I think Kevin and how aggressive he was in the playcalling. … It’s a lot of dropback shots, taking their chances, and that made an impression on me, too.”
Considering Jones’ incredible showing through the first five games of the 2025 campaign, O’Connell and company definitely have something good going in Minnesota, as Darnold was able to resurrect his career under that coaching staff as well before moving on to the Seattle Seahawks.
Can Carson Wentz Follow in Daniel Jones’ Footsteps?
Getty#11 Carson Wentz of Minnesota Vikings.
The Vikings have quite the reputation under O’Connell for getting the best out of quarterbacks who looked like their careers were headed in the wrong direction. Jones and Darnold are great examples of what can happen for talented quarterbacks who were given the right opportunity to learn in the right situation with the right coaching staff.
The question now is whether Carson Wentz will be the next in line to resurrect his NFL career and get another chance as a starter in the league. So far, Wentz has played well while replacing the injured McCarthy.
As of Wednesday, it remains to be seen if Wentz gets another shot under center, with McCarthy returning to practice. However, if O’Connell does go with the veteran, the team is likely confident either way.
In three games, Wentz has helped the Vikings win two while throwing for 759 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. These are eye-popping numbers, but formidable enough to shoulder the load, even if it is against the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles after Minnesota’s bye on Oct. 19.
