Alex Ovechkin did not record a shot on goal in the Washington Capitals’ 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Sunday.
Ovechkin’s shotless Game One marks only the fourth time in his career he’s been unable to get rubber on net in the postseason.
The Capitals have lost all four games Ovechkin has failed to do so. Of the three prior series where those games took place, the Capitals won one of them, advancing past the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2018. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored in overtime of Game Six then, sending the Capitals to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in the Ovechkin Era.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Shots |
|---|---|---|---|
| April 21, 2024 | NYR | L 4-1 | 0 |
| May 3, 2018 | PIT | L 3-1 | 0 |
| May 7, 2012 | NYR | L 3-2 (OT) | 0 |
| April 15, 2010 | MTL | L 3-2 (OT) | 0 |
Ovechkin did fire seven shot attempts toward Igor Shesterkin in the New York net but had most of those tries blocked by sliding Rangers defenders. Four of the attempts came on the power play where he received 7:54 of ice time. The Capitals were unable to convert on any of their four attempts up a man.
“We all understand it’s a playoff game,” Ovechkin told NBC4’s JP Finlay postgame. “Everybody have to play much better. Forget about this one and move forward.”
Overall on Sunday, the Capitals recorded only 21 shots on goal. TJ Oshie and Connor McMichael, Ovechkin’s linemates, also failed to test Shesterkin.
The Capitals captain only went without a shot in five games during the regular season and four of those games came before his offensive explosion after the combined All-Star/bye-week break. Two came in October in back-to-back games for the first-ever time in his career. Ovechkin finished the 2023-24 campaign with 20 games where he recorded five-plus shots on goal.
Ovechkin had eight total shots against the Rangers in the two games he played against them in December. He is the NHL’s all-time regular-season leader in the category, firing 6,627 total shots over 19 seasons.
During his 15 different playoff appearances, The Great Eight has suited up in 148 total playoff games and recorded 637 shots, averaging 4.3 shots per game.
