Alex Ovechkin’s effort is once again being questioned in Washington. And this time it’s by his coach, Adam Oates, who today accused his captain of quitting on the fourth of five goals the Dallas Stars scored last night at the Verizon Center.
As you can see above, Oates was referring to the fact Ray Whitney was allowed to blow by Ovechkin in the neutral zone to pick up a pass from Alex Chiasson in the slot and get it to Dustin Jeffrey for the goal.
As you can see below, Ovechkin was already under the microscope for his five-on-five defensive play. Despite the fact he leads the league with 48 goals, the Russian winger is an NHL-worst minus-36, and his Capitals are on the verge of missing the playoffs for the first time since 2007.
PS -- Ovechkin wasn’t the only Cap to be called out by Oates:
Adam Oates said Dmitry Orlov and Mike Green both 'relaxed' on goals by Stars Tuesday night. Green a minus-3. #CapitalsTalk
— Chuck Gormley (@CharlesAGormley) April 2, 2014
PPS -- Just for fun...
