2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs Blog - Conference Quarter-finals

Alex Ovechkin's team has played two playoff games and he has zero goals. What gives for the NHL's reining MVP?

To be fair, Ovechkin has created two of the four goals his team has scored - Tomas Fleischmann tipped in one of his shots and Alexander Semin put in one of his rebounds.

Still, the Caps are going to need more from No. 8 if they are going to get back in this series.

"He's dangerous anytime," Rangers defenceman Wade Redden said. "Anytime he is on the ice you have to be aware and it is going to be the same way tonight. He's a guy that we've got to be good against. He's going to do some things and get some things, but we've got to be strong on him and limit his chances."

Redden and Michal Rozsival have been charged with dealing with Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom by coach John Tortorella, but the New York coach said he's not getting too involved with trying to play a game of chess when Ovechkin is on the ice.

"Everybody will play against him sooner or later, and they have to be ready to play against him," Tortorella said.

"It is not just him, there is a number of different guys on their team. We're not getting too wrapped in the counter-punching and the running people off the ice and running guys on the ice. I think anyone one of our pairs can play against him. Do I prefer certain guys? Sure, but I think anyone of our lines or our defence pairs can play against their top guys. That's the only way we can win this series, so we're not getting too caught up in the matching."

One of the problems for the Capitals in the first two games was the number of times a player tried to go 1-on-2 or 1-on-3 against Rangers defenders with no success. Ovechkin is chief among the guys who tends to try to do too much when times are tough.

"You just have to talk to him," Boudreau said. "He is the guy who wants to win more than anybody, and sometimes he has the tendency of trying to do everything by himself. That's just something that we have to talk to him and say, ‘Hey, Alex, you've got 19 other guys here to help you.' His personality is to want to do everything so hard and so well and you can't fault him for that. You just have to reel him in sometimes."

Ovechkin didn't seem to think he has any adjustments to make.

"I will just play my game," he said. "I play hockey and I do what I can do my best. Everybody thinks have pressure. It is my fourth year and everybody every day ask me, 'You have pressure? You have pressure?' "

MORE DRAMA FROM No. 8

Ovechkin caused a minor controversy at the Rangers morning skate. He walked out from the Capitals dressing room and sat on the bench for a few minutes while the Rangers were on the ice. Someone from the Rangers organization asked him to leave.

"I just [wanted] Tortorella [to get] pissed off, and he was," Ovechkin said. When asked why he thought they asked him to leave, he responded with, "Because they're afraid of me."

Boudreau said he thought it wasn't a big deal and his star just didn't understand the rules.

"I don't think he was with a pen and paper and writing down line combinations or anything, but I can understand," he said. "I've gone through the same argument when I have wanted privacy at my practice."

Tortorella didn't seem amused when it came up at his meeting with the media.

"This is the first I've heard of it," he said. "Ask me about the game, not that [stuff]."

LINEUP MUSINGS

Boudreau wasn't offering any insight about his lineup this morning.

Jeff Schultz (upper body) was not on the ice, and the coach said he doesn't know when he might return. Schultz spent most of the Capitals skate riding a stationary bike. Boudreau did say there might be a tweak to his forward combinations. There are no changes expected for the Rangers.