Major development with Ovechkin has fans worried about his NHL future

The Washington Capitals are 1-2 to start the season under new head coach Spencer Carbery and, frankly, they're lucky to not be 0-3. 

The team has struggled to find offense, scoring just four goals in three games.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who are looking to find their game early in the season and aren’t there yet,” said Carbery following the Capitals' 6-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators last night. “Usually it’s a few [players], but we have more than you would call ‘normal,’ so we’re trying to find our game. And what’s compounding the issue is that now, when we make a mistake, it’s in the back of the net.

“It’s tough. It’s hard. I don’t think it’s a lack of effort. We’re turning over some pucks that maybe in a different year or a different situation, wouldn’t be that big of a deal. But right now, every time we turn over a puck, it’s going to be a Grade A [scoring chance against]. And we have to learn from that, and we have to correct it. We’re struggling right now, we’re not executing well offensively, we’re not clicking like a well-oiled machine offensively – the power play, finishing chances, 2-on-1s, odd man chances – it’s not clicking.”

One alarming stat that was making the rounds after last night's game is that Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was held shot-less for consecutive games for the first time in his NHL career. That's right... Ovi hasn't generated a shot in back to back games for the first time ever. Wild...

So now fans are wondering... is Ovi cooked?

This is officially the slowest start in Ovechkin's career. At age 38 and with Gretzky's goal scoring record still 72 tallies away, we all assumed that Ovechkin would take the mantle in the next couple years and wrap up his career in 2026 once his contract expires. But now I'm wondering if he can even keep up out there anymore? He looks like he's lost a couple steps and hasn't really been engaged physically like his normal self.

Hopefully all we're looking at here is a slow start for the future Hall of Famer. After all, sometimes those older models need a bit of time to warm up the engine before kicking it into a higher gear.