(Caps Outsider)
The Washington Capitals played only their 50th game without Alex Ovechkin in the lineup, dating back to his first game on October 5, 2005. Needless to say, the Caps have not been a very good team without their captain, falling to 23-23-4 all-time. Even worse, their 6-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Thursday was their 6th loss in a row without Ovi, and their third this season.
It’s not a huge surprise that the Capitals struggle without Ovechkin, mainly because he misses so few games, relatively speaking, so they don’t have much time to practice without him or find a suitable replacement (as if anyone could replace The Great 8).