Ovechkin leads the Capitals with 151 shots on goal, but his average of 3.43 shots per game is down 0.60 per game from last season, when he averaged 4.03 shots per game and led Washington with 42 goals to set an NHL record with his 13th 40-goal season. And his 6.0 percent shooting percentage this season is the lowest of his NHL career, and well below his 14.3 percent from last season.
"Obviously it's up to me what I have to do better to get those shots to go in," Ovechkin said. "But sometimes maybe you're not going to have 100 percent chances but you to have to use it. And then when the first goal goes in, you feel much [more] comfortable and you feel much better with your game."
A strong finish to the season from Ovechkin could boost the Capitals' chances of qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Washington (22-18-7) is five points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division with 35 games remaining -- three more than the Flyers.
The Capitals might be in a better position if Ovechkin had scored more previously, but he's not their only player that's struggling offensively. Strome (19), Anthony Mantha (15) and Tom Wilson (12) are their only players in double figures in goals and Washington is 30th in the NHL with an average of 2.38 goals per game, ahead of only the Chicago Blackhawks (2.08) and San Jose Sharks (2.08).
"I know his shooting percentage and all that stuff," Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. "Would we have one or two more wins? Potentially, but you could also say that for a lot of guys. So I try to figure out, 'So why is that? Why his shooting percentage (low)?' That's where my sleepless nights are spent and mornings are. 'Why is his shooting percentage low this year? How can I help him?' We're working on some different things with getting him in situations to score more 5-on-5."
Ovechkin has scored two goals at 5-on-5. Carbery has tried moving him around on different lines, playing him mostly with Strome and Evgeny Kuznetsov as his centers, but also trying him with Connor McMichael and Nic Dowd in the middle. He practiced on a line with Strome and Wilson on Monday.
Kuznetsov will be out of the lineup indefinitely while receiving care from the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance program.
Despite enduring long stretches without scoring, including an NHL career-long 14-game goal drought from Nov. 22-Dec. 20, Ovechkin has managed to hold any frustration he's felt in check.
"He’s acting like the veteran that he is," forward T.J. Oshie said. "He hasn't seemed like he's getting necessarily frustrated. I know that I've been through my fair share of not scoring at the pace that I want to, and when it comes down to that, I think attention to detail and affecting the games in other ways is very important. His presence alone is a factor for other teams. The scoring will start coming, and when it does you know not many people can score at the pace that he can."
Ovechkin said the lower-body injury that caused him to miss three games from Jan. 13-16 is "all good" now and sounded refreshed mentally and ready for the stretch drive.
After playing the Canadiens (20-21-8), their next four games are against the top four teams in the NHL in points -- the Florida Panthers (66 points) on Thursday, the Boston Bruins (71) on Saturday, the Vancouver Canucks (71) on Sunday and the Colorado Avalanche (67) on Feb. 13.
"Obviously we want to be in a playoff spot," Ovechkin said. "We want to be fighting for the Cup. It's up to us what and how we want to play. If you look on our names on the lines, it's pretty good lines. It's up to us. We have to use our chances. We have to play smart on [defense], neutral zone, and don't make stupid mistakes, decisions that are going to cost us the game."
