On Saturday, the Capitals received goals from stars Alex Ovechkin, Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom in a victory over the New York Rangers. If they want to extend the season to a Game 7, however, they will need more than they got from Ovechkin in that devastating 3-2 loss on Monday. It’s not just about producing points. In a single game, luck will play as much a role as anything in whether a player buries his chances at the offensive end. And Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist will have something to say about that, too. But Ovechkin did not register a single shot on goal Monday. In fact, he only took two shots — one was blocked, one missed the net. That won’t cut it.
“You are not going to score if you don’t shoot the puck,” New York defenseman Ryan McDonagh told reporters Tuesday. “It is a team effort. He has had some goals in this series, but we have kept him in check for the most part and we have to continue to do that here. A lot of it starts with the way we forecheck against these guys. We have held pucks in the offensive zone.”
Ovechkin has two goals and one assist in the series. But in 49 career playoff games, he’s been held without a shot just twice. The other was April 15, 2010, in Game 1 of a series vs. Montreal. How does Ovechkin break through again?
“Just got to try and work harder,” Backstrom said. “And you’ve just got to find a way to get pucks to the net, I think, and maybe go in front of the net and battle harder.”
– Brian McNally
