Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin breaks silence on early-season struggles

The Washington Capitals have fallen on hard times as of late. The team has now lost four straight games and will be missing Pierre-Luc Dubois for an extended period of time.

While the struggles are mounting for the team, Alex Ovechkin has spoken out, keeping a positive attitude in the process.

“Yeah, a little struggling. But overall, we just have to stick to the plan and keep working and eventually you will score,” the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer said, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti.

The Capitals are 6-5-1 on the year, which places them tied for last in the Metropolitan Division. This is a drop from being the top team in the Eastern Conference in 2024-25.

Ovechkin has been part of the team’s struggles. Ovi was third in the NHL in goals scored in 2024-25, potting 44 tallies, while also missing 16 games with an injury. He has just two goals this year in 12 games, sitting at 899 for his career. He has also had two streaks of four games without a goal, something that did not happen last year.

“Sometimes you can’t score like five or six games, and then you score 10 games in a row. So yeah, we’ll see,” Ovi noted about the scoring drought.

The Capitals’ offense has struggled as a whole this year. They have scored just 31 goals, which is tied for last in the NHL, and are also tied for 30th in the league in goals per game. The team is also 27th on the powerplay this year.

“Overall, 5-on-5 I haven’t minded his game overall through the first 12 games. Power play has been an issue, and that’s a product of our whole power play as a group,” head coach Spencer Carbery told NHL.com. “So, I think that negatively affects him. When he’s not getting opportunities, [offensive]-zone time, his shot off, scoring chances, you name it, it’s not a good thing.”

Ovechkin and the Capitals will get a chance to get back on track on Wednesday night at home against the St. Louis Blues.