“Maybe luck was not on our side”: Alex Ovechkin laments missed opportunities in tight series loss to Hurricanes 

The Washington Capitals suffered a disappointing end to their season, falling to the Carolina Hurricanes 4-1 in their second-round playoff series.

The Capitals were eliminated on Thursday after a 3-1 defeat to the Hurricanes in Game 5 at Capital One Arena. They had made it to the second round by beating the Canadiens in five games to open the playoffs.

Captain Alex Ovechkin lamented the missed opportunities that ultimately cost his team the chance to advance.

"It's tough. We have a special group, but we have our chances. We just don't execute," Ovechkin said postgame via NHL.com. "Maybe luck was not our side, because I don't think we played bad hockey. We have lots of great chances to get the lead.

"It's tough, but the experience we have this year will help for our future, 100%," he added.

In the regular season, Ovechkin scored 44 goals in 65 games, breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goals record with his 895th. He followed that up with five goals and six points in 10 playoff appearances.

In Game 5, Anthony Beauvillier provided Washington’s only goal, while Logan Thompson made 18 saves in net. Carolina got goals from Seth Jarvis, Andrei Svechnikov and Jordan Staal, with Frederik Andersen also stopping 18 shots in the win.

Capitals HC Spencer Carbery's comments about Alex Ovechkin's performance this season

Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery commended Ovechkin for his impact this season, highlighting that despite modest playoff stats, his leadership and drive played a crucial role in the team’s success.

"I thought O (Ovechkin) was great in the playoffs,” Carbery said.

Carbery also noted that last year’s early playoff exit stuck with Ovechkin and fueled his determination to lead the team to a stronger showing this season.

"For him to come back this year and play the way that he did, chase down this record, the start that he had, breaking his leg, coming back from that, and just continuing to not only do the things he did individually, statistically, but lead our team – that's part of the story," Carbery said.

Carbery also praised the Russian's overall playoff performance, noting his overtime winner against Montreal and emphasizing how crucial his contributions were, even in the narrow series win.