"Though Ovechkin didn't shoot in the first three rounds of the skills competition, Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery sent him over the boards as the team's fourth shooter. That choice proved the deciding moment of the game: after Devils goaltender Jake Allen stopped Ovechkin's attempt, Simon Nemec snuck the puck past Logan Thompson for the win. Carbery told reporters postgame that Ovechkin's strong third period convinced him to give him a chance to shoot."
"Despite Ovechkin's lack of shootout success, Carbery has continued to give him opportunities, albeit less regularly than he once did. Ovechkin has gone over the boards in 10 of 16 shootout games since Carbery took the bench in 2023-24, including both shootout losses this season. "It's a gut call, even though he struggled recently - it's been a while since he scored in the shootout," Carbery said. "But that's just a gut call for a guy that's had a good third period, so give him an opportunity to shoot there.""
"Carbery dove into the team's approach to the shootout after Saturday's loss and took personal accountability for the decision to send Ovechkin out. "We've gone through (the shootout) a lot," Carbery said. "We've talked about it for hours and hours and hours. Got our analytics team involved in it. So we've come up with sort of a set order. And then after that, it's a little bit on instinct.""
Alex Ovechkin scored his 902nd career goal in the third period to tie the game against the New Jersey Devils. Ovechkin has missed his last 13 shootout attempts, with his last successful attempt on March 25, 2022, a streak unmatched among players with at least 10 tries. Coach Spencer Carbery chose Ovechkin as the fourth shooter after a strong third period, a decision he described as a gut call. Carbery has continued to include Ovechkin in shootouts under his tenure, consulting analytics and establishing an order while still relying on instinct in-game decisions.
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