Yahoo Sports Capitals Rallying Around Ovechkin, Ready To Fill Void As They Face Tough Reality Of Injury: 'We Want To Play To His Standard'
ARLINGTON, V.A. — For Tom Wilson, it took a minute for him to process the news that Alex Ovechkin was week-to-week for the Washington Capitals.
In the 12 years that he's been playing with Ovechkin, Wilson's never really seen the captain hurt, let alone missing more than a handful of games.
That changed on Monday in Utah when Wilson watched Ovechkin hurt his lower leg in a collision with Jack McBain — and it was hard to take in.
"I was talking to O and got the news, and then kind of went to talk to some of the other guys, and we were sitting there saying like, 'This is weird. Like, it's unbelievable that he's actually hurt.' It's one of those things where like, he's going to miss games? It's new to me," Wilson said.
It'll be a tough adjustment for the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals, as Ovechkin was leading Washington — and the entire NHL — with 15 goals through 18 games while chasing down Wayne Gretzky's all-time goals record.
"He doesn't go out there and just coast around; he's played for 20 years every shift, running over guys and skating," Wilson pointed out. "You know, he's a power forward, the best goal scorer ever maybe, and he's a power forward that plays the game really hard."
Then, there's his off-ice impact. Ovechkin's energy and leadership are contagious, and as the captain, has established a close, tight-knit room where there's accountability.
"He brings a lot of infectious energy, positivity in the room. When you feel like you can't muster up something, when you feel like, 'Oh geez, my legs are really heavy today,' He helps in that department to bring you up and bring you into the right and drag you into a game where you might not have your best or feel your best," Carbery said.
At the end of the day, though, the world doesn't stand still, and the schedule doesn't stop. Washington will have to adjust to life without Ovechkin, and they're ready to work to try and fill his void.
"There's nothing really you can do at this point besides trying to find ways to get through it," John Carlson pointed out. "He's a big presence, he's a big leader, he's a big momentum changer in games or whatever it is, so we're going to need other people to step up, and that's no secret to anybody in terms of anybody that goes down, but certainly a guy with that presence, there will be a lot of moving parts to pick up the bits and pieces that are irreplaceable."
That starts with the leadership group, and Wilson, an alternate captain in line to wear the "C" after Ovechkin hangs up the skates, said the message is simple throughout the dressing room: you play for your captain.
"He leads the way every night and he's been a superstar that carries the load for so many years," Wilson said. "When he's out we gotta make sure we're playing to his standard that he'll appreciate."
"It's on all of us to make sure we understand that and do a little bit more to bring those qualities that O's done such a good job with," Carbery added.
Beyond that, it'll come down to consistency, and the Capitals continuing to do what they've been doing all season: finding ways to win. Washington leads the league in goals per game (4.33), and beyond Ovechkin, Dylan Strome, Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas have been providing goals aplenty.
Ivan Miroshnichenko is also up from Hershey to slot into that vacant roster spot, and the team will be looking to keep its chemistry going despite likely line changes to come.
"There's no doubt about that (that we have talent to fill the void)," Carlson said. "But I think people need to elevate their play in that scenario. And whether that's in that spot, whether that's other people on other lines picking up the slack, there's minutes to be played and goals to be scored."
"I think what's been our success is just every guy in here playing for the guy next to each other. Anyone can step up on any given night, I mean, the scoring has been so balanced, any line can go out and get it done," Wilson added. "We're playing, the momentum of having one line come out after another and just play the right way and play for each other. It's meshing well. And I said from Day 1 these new guys are awesome and they're gonna add a lot to this group. And the identity of this group this year has been awesome so you got to keep it going and keep the momentum coming our way."
That said, Wilson said it's also important that the Capitals don't overthink the situation.
"It sucks, it's a bit of an emotional blow to the group but you know, vibes are good this morning. We're here to work, we're here to come together," Wilson said. "He's gonna be around, he's gonna be back soon. It's not like we're reinventing the wheel. We're going to play without our captain and one of our best players for a few games here and then he'll be back and we'll be rolling with him soon. So everyone just pick up the slack for a few days and we'll be back after it.
"I'm sure he's going to be back stronger than ever and flying around soon. So it sucks, it was kind of a dim ending to a great road trip, but we'll rally and hold things together here until he's back pretty soon."
