For the first time in what might seem like forever, Alex Ovechkin is having trouble putting the puck in the net.
The Washington Capitals captain has now gone 10 straight games without a tally and was quite candid following Sunday night's 5-2 loss against the Anaheim Ducks about how he's dealing with the streak.
"A little bit frustrating because the puck don’t go in," Ovechkin said, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. "You just maybe wait something happen going to be, a miracle or something. You just have to work harder and fight through it."
During the streak Ovechkin has fired 32 shots on goal, but uncharacteristically went shotless on two occasions. Nevertheless, Ovechkin is trying his best to remain positive, insisting he could be a goal away from turning it around.
"You know, I’m not a rookie anymore," Ovechkin said. "I don’t think about, 'Do I have to score every game?' Of course, I wanted to. If you look at the chances we don’t have, it's all about me. The guys give me really good plays, and I just have to put it in. One goal and it’s turned around in a different way."
Ovechkin' slide has also done very little to deter head coach Barry Trotz who insists Ovechkin might actually be playing better hockey during his slump.
"There will be a lot made of him not scoring lately, but he is skating and maybe playing better than he has in long stretches when he was scoring," Trotz said. "He’s pretty dangerous. He’s skating. I know that he’s worked on that, and he’s getting chances. He’s dangerous and he’s being heavy and he’s hard to play against. It’ll come."
Ovechkin will get his next chance at halting the skid Tuesday when the Capitals host the Minnesota Wild.
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