Eliminated Capitals expect Ovechkin to be back

WASHINGTON -- Capitals coach Spencer Carbery expects captain Alex Ovechkin, who will turn 40 in September, to be back with the team for his 21st NHL season.

"My understanding is he's under contract, so he'll be back next year," the coach said after the Capitals' 3-1 loss Thursday night in Game 5 against the Carolina Hurricanes, which eliminated Washington from the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Ovechkin is signed through the 2025-26 season with a $9.5 million cap hit.

"I thought 'O' was great in playoffs," Carbery said. "I know this series; the stats won't be flattering."

Ovechkin's regular season saw him score 44 goals in 65 games while breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL record with his 895th career tally. His postseason ended with a whimper: Ovechkin scored just once in five games against Carolina, on a 5-on-3 power play in their Game 4 loss in Raleigh. Ovechkin generated 14 shots in the series. He was a minus-3 overall, including a minus-2 in the elimination game loss to Carolina.

"Yeah, it's tough, obviously," Ovechkin said after Game 5. "We have a special group, but obviously we have our chances and we don't execute. Maybe luck was not our side, because I don't think we played bad hockey."

Overall in the playoffs, Ovechkin had five goals and an assist in 10 games, with all but one goal coming in Washington's five-game, first-round series win over the Montreal Canadiens.

Carbery had high praise for the way Ovechkin rebounded from his playoff performance against the New York Rangers last season, when he went scoreless and had five shots on goal as the Capitals got swept.

"He was upset with the way that the playoffs went," Carbery said. "How did this team do so well [this season]? How did they win the East? He's a big part of that as our captain. The cherry on top was that he comes into the playoffs and hits the ground running."

Carbery cited Ovechkin's overtime goal in Game 1 against the Canadiens as a critical moment in the postseason. But Ovechkin would score only one other even-strength goal in the playoffs, and none against the Hurricanes.

"He was fantastic this year, and I thought he had a great playoffs. He did what he came back this year to prove, and he did it in the playoffs as well," Carbery said. "I tip my cap to the season that he had and, as our captain, leading the way."

The Capitals put up a solid effort in Game 5, generating scoring chances and skating better than they had in their previous two road losses to the Hurricanes. They finished with more shot attempts and scoring chances at 5-on-5 against their opponent, but they couldn't find a way to break a 1-1 tie in the third period before Andrei Svechnikov scored with just 1:59 remaining to give the Hurricanes the lead.

"They are just relentless with their pressure and their ability to break plays up with their sticks. There's no team in the league like it. It doesn't mean they're going to win the Cup. But they absolutely are right there," Carbery said. "I hate, hate, hate losing a series to them, but it is a great learning [for our team]."

The Capitals topped the Eastern Conference in the regular season with 111 points. It was a season defined by emerging young talents such as center Aliaksei Protas, successful acquisitions including center Pierre-Luc Dubois and goalie Logan Thompson, along with Ovechkin's historic chase in which he eventually surpassed Gretzky's NHL goals record.

"Not much left to be said about him," said his center, Dylan Strome. "It is an honor to get to play with him and see the way he competes. He's an easy guy to get in line and follow. Who knows how much longer he has left, but we'll still be following as long as he is here."