Alex Ovechkin will report to the Bell Center on Saturday night after failing to shoot on goal in back-to-back games for the first time in his illustrious career.

The Montreal Canadiens will do everything they can to extend this rare losing streak, but head coach Martin St-Louis admitted he expected to see a hungry Ovechkin on the ice.

“I would be very surprised if he didn’t come up with the idea of ​​taking a shot on goal. We have to be prepared for that,” said St-Louis.

Ovechkin will also look to score his first goal of the season when the Washington Capitals (1-2-0) take on the Canadians (1-1-1).

“He shot a lot and scored a lot of goals and you have to respect his presence on the ice,” Canadiens forward Sean Monahan said of Ovechkin. It’s pretty crazy that he’s suspended two games in a row for the first time in his career! »

Goaltender Jake Allen will be tasked with frustrating Ovechkin when he gets a shot on goal. He was the victim of five of the Russian sniper’s 822 career goals, who also scored 16 of his goals in 26 games at the Bell Center.

Ovechkin scored three goals against Allen and the Canadians in a 9-2 win at Washington on Dec. 31.

“A lot of times you save because of your position and not your reaction,” Allen said. But he’s not the top scorer of all time for nothing. »

In fact, Ovechkin is still 72 goals shy of tying Wayne Gretzky for first place in NHL history. But Allen and the Canadian have other fish to fry.

Although Cole Caufield recalled that the season was only three games old and no one on the Canadiens was panicking, the power play remains a black mark on the Montreal club’s record.

He only used one of his first eleven chances of the season on the power play. And all this after winning 3 of 23 in the preseason calendar and finishing 29th^e In this regard, he took first place on the Bettman circuit last season.

Difficulty training

Defenseman Mike Matheson was visibly frustrated with his unit’s ineffectiveness during practice drills Friday morning at the CN Sports Complex. He tried to calm the situation in front of the microphones and cameras.

“I am a hard-working guy and want to do my best. I’m competitive and that’s going to be the case sometimes,” said the 29-year-old Montrealer.

St-Louis also organized a long meeting with his players to discuss the power play after practice.

“When you get power plays and don’t have success, it can get frustrating,” Monahan said. But it’s a good sign. This means that the boys take it to heart, that they are aware of their responsibilities. Today it didn’t work and the boys were frustrated. It’s good to see that. »

It doesn’t matter how quickly we fix things. You have to be patient with the plan. I don’t want to skip any steps.

Allen echoed Monahan, noting that Matheson’s frustration showed how much the players care about the team’s success. “Sometimes training will go well and sometimes it will be more difficult,” said the veteran goalkeeper. It shows that they care about the team’s success, that they want to get their hands dirty and train to improve. It’s a good sign to see that. »

However, St-Louis recalled the need to be patient with his group and recalled that he did not want to take shortcuts in his teachings. “The process is more important than the destination,” he said.

Additionally, defenseman Kaiden Guhle practiced about fifteen minutes in front of his teammates on the ice at the CN Sports Complex, three days after suffering an upper-body injury in his team’s 5-2 loss to the Wild of Minnesota. His health will continue to be monitored daily, but he will not play against the Capitals.

For his part, center Christian Dvorak (knee) practiced without a jersey for the first time, indicating he has had to avoid contact since returning to work in the fall. He remains ineligible to play ahead of the Nov. 4 game against the Blues in St. Louis because his name was placed on the long-term injured list at the start of the season.

To watch in the video