"Bench Ovi": Fans suggest benching Alex Ovechkin after captain's sluggish performance in thrashing loss to Coyotes

Fans urged the Washington Capitals to bench captain Alex Ovechkin after his sluggish performance in Monday's humiliating 6-0 shutout loss to the Arizona Coyotes.

The Caps entered the game without Evgeny Kuznetsov, who was a healthy scratch in what could have been the forward's 700th career game. HC Spencer Carbery described Kuznetsov's decision as a "mental reset."

However, after the outing against the Coyotes on Friday, it appears that the entire roster may require a mental reset. The Washington Capitals were never on the front foot in the game, and they were so bad that the Coyotes scored on five of eight shots attempted in the first period.

This was the second straight loss for the Caps on the ice. The Arizona Coyotes, meanwhile, have continued with their impressive form, taking their winning streak to six games.

Here's what fans on X, formerly Twitter, had to say on the Capitals' shutout loss to the Coyotes.

One fan demanded the benching of Alex Ovechkin tweeted:

"Bench ovi. If you hold kuzy accountable for his play you better give ovi the same treatment. Dude is a pylon out there"

Another wrote:

"Bench Ovechkin and kuemper"

Here are some more reactions on X:

Alex Ovechkin has 14 points through five goals and nine assists in 22 games this season. With 827 goals, Ovi needs 67 more goals to break Wayne Gretzky's NHL record of 894 goals.

Arizona Coyotes shutout win hands Alex Ovechkin and Capitals their second consecutive away defeat

On Monday, the Washington Capitals Capitals traveled to the ASU Multi-Purpose Arena to face the Arizona Coyotes. The Coyotes wrapped up the game with a shutout win over the visitors (6-0).

In the first period, at the 8:46 mark, Logan Cooley gave the home team a 1-0 lead after scoring a tip-in goal, thanks to a beautiful pass from Clayton Keller that found the stick of Cooley after beating four players on the play in the powerplay goal.

Just over two minutes later, Michael Carcone made it 2-0. At the 14:15 mark, the Arizona Coyotes capitalized on another powerplay with Nick Schmaltz's slap shot, giving the team a 3-0 lead.

Schmaltz scored his second goal of the night to make it 4-0 for the Coyotes before Jason Zucker's goal gave the home team a strong 5-0 lead before heading into the second period.

Nick Bjugstad's short-handed goal at 16:54 minutes stood out as the winner for the Coyotes, as no goals were scored in the final period.

Keller and Alex Kerfoot notched up three points apiece, while Nick Schmaltz scored two goals for the team. Meanwhile, Connor Ingram shut out the Capitals with a stellar performance between the pipes for the Coyotes.

Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals will look to improve their woes when they face the Dallas Stars on Thursday, Dec. 7. The puck drops at 8:00 p.m. ET.