Washington forward Alex Ovechkin will try to end the longest goalless drought of his 19-year NHL career when the Capitals visit the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.
Ovechkin has gone 11 straight games without a goal, keeping the 38-year-old future Hall of Famer stuck on five for the season since scoring in a 4-3 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Nov. 18.
The dry spell has stalled Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal scoring record of 894, leaving him 67 behind, but Capitals coach Spencer Carbery doesn’t believe Ovechkin is pressing.
“I’ve felt like he’s in a good headspace,” Carbery said before Ovechkin went scoreless in Washington’s 4-3 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. “He feels as confident as ever. Knows that it’s only a matter of time before some of these chances start falling for him.”
After shooting below 10 percent just once in his previous 18 seasons, Ovechkin is converting just 5.32 percent of his chances this campaign.
Ovechkin has one power-play goal this season after scoring a third of his 42 goals with the man advantage last season. Those struggles have directly affected Washington’s power play, which is ranked 31st in the league (9.2 percent).
Carbery said the key for Ovechkin is to continue focusing on the process, getting to the high-danger areas and making the most of every shift and touch of the puck.
“He knows that and knows that his opportunities and shots will eventually start following,” Carbery said. “Once they start … that could snowball.”
