Alex Ovechkin fails to record a shot in consecutive games for first time in career

While Connor Bedard bursts onto the NHL scene with relentless puck firing, veteran Alex Ovechkin is facing an unusual shooting drought.

For the first time in his legendary 19-year NHL career, Ovechkin went two consecutive games without registering a single shot on goal.

As NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti points out, this is the second straight season that Ovechkin has failed to score a goal in the first three games. It’s safe to say that these droughts are a rarity for the future Hockey Hall of Famer.

Fortunately, these mini cold streaks don’t usually keep Ovechkin off the scoreboard for long.

Ovechkin has now gone without a shot in just 19 games over his entire NHL career.

On a positive note, Ovechkin did manage to register an assist in Wednesday’s game, contributing to the Capitals’ lone goal in a 6-1 loss to the Ottawa Senators. Although it’s his first point of the season, he did have a more “Ovi”-esque debut with four shots on goal against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 13.

Overall, Ovechkin has attempted 18 shots this season, with four of them being blocked or off target in the Senator’s game.

After the loss, new Capitals head coach Spencer Carberry acknowledged that the team’s scoring struggles are due to players needing to find their game. However, the extent of these struggles is higher than usual for the start of a season.

It’s not just Ovechkin who’s struggling at the start of the season. Washington has only scored four goals in three games, and their first goal came in a shootout win against the Calgary Flames. Additionally, the Capitals were the last team in the NHL to score their first goal of the season, partly due to the scheduling.

Naturally, there’s hope that both Ovechkin and the Capitals will rediscover their scoring touch. However, given the aging core of the team, it raises questions about how much they can bounce back.

A rare drought for Ovechkin, the NHL’s all-time volume shooter

This slump leaves Ovechkin at 822 goals, second in NHL history behind Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894. The 38-year-old winger managed to bounce back from a slow start last season, finishing with 42 goals, 75 points, and 294 shots on goal in 73 games.

Ovechkin currently holds the NHL career shots on goal record with an impressive 6,359 shots, averaging about 4.71 shots on goal per game. He holds a substantial lead over second-place Ray Bourque, who has 6,209 shots on goal and is the only other player to surpass 6,000 in their career.