Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin. Perry Nelson-Imagn Images

Capitals HC explains unusual Alex Ovechkin decision

By Austen Bundy | Last updated Feb 6, 2025 2:01 PM ET

Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin scored his 25th goal of the season Tuesday night on an empty-net shot in the closing second of the team's 6-3 win over the Florida Panthers.

It was his 63rd career empty-net goal, the most in NHL history. As he continues to close in on Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record (17 away from passing 894), his usage in late-game six-on-five situations has come into question.

Head coach Spencer Carbery defended his tactic of throwing out the team's best goal scorer when, typically, teams are looking to defend against their opponent's extra attacker in the waning minutes.

"What I see in the empty-net situations is a player that has an incredible ability to read where the puck is going,” he told reporters at a pre-practice news conference on Wednesday. “People would say, ‘What’s he doing out there? He doesn’t penalty kill. He’s not a defensive specialist. Why would you put him out there?'"

Ovechkin has scored six empty-net goals this season. However, other NHL star scorers also have a similar tally this year, reinforcing Carbery's strategy.

Yes, 6 of Alex Ovechkin's 25 goals are empty-net goals.

Just like 7 of Mikko Rantanen's 26 goals are empty-net goals.

Also, 6 of Kirill Kaprizov's 23 goals are empty-netters.

And 5 of Adrian Kempe's 24 goals are empty-netters
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) February 5, 2025

"There’s a lot of skilled players that play around the league five-on-six that aren’t your quote-unquote defensive specialists or your penalty kill guys that have a ton of value playing five-on-six because they are so intelligent with what the offensive players want to do," Carbery continued.

As Ovechkin continues to approach Gretzky's record, it's understandable fans don't want to see such an illustrious marker taken down so unceremoniously.

But Carbery isn't the first to employ his captain's offensive prowess even when shorthanded. Peter Laviolette, Capitals head coach from 2020-23 and current New York Rangers bench boss, saw Ovechkin record a single-season career-high nine empty-netters in 2021-22.

He's on pace for 11 this season, but as fans should remember, Ovechkin isn't keen on reaching milestones without beating a goaltender.

When he passed Gordie Howe for 2nd-most all-time goals (801) in December 2022, he tried to pass up an empty-net shot against the Winnipeg Jets before eventually giving in to the pressure from fans and his teammates.

When it comes to goal scoring, they ask how many, not how. Ovechkin knows that the "how" will be just as important as the number 895.

Austen Bundy

Austen Bundy is a journalist and sports junkie from the Washington, D. C. area

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