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Ovechkin says Halak is feeling the pressure

Image (1) Halak1-thumb-250x166-9734.jpg for post 1042

The Capitals and Canadiens series has become a much more interesting contest than I thought it could be, although I shouldn’t be surprised when Alex Ovechkin and the Habs are in a seven game series. Now there’s some talk going back and forth, although it doesn’t seem to be anything that out of the ordinary.

After the Capitals erased a 4-1 deficit on the way to a 6-5 overtime loss, Alex Ovechkin says that he thinks the Caps are getting to the Canadiens’ goaltender Jaroslav Halak. From CBC Sports:

“I watched the replay when Fehr scored the goal and his arm was shaking when he drank water,” Ovechkin said of Halak after he allowed Eric Fehr to score on a breakaway in the first period of Game 2. “So, he’s nervous. He knows all the pressure is on him and that’s a good sign for us.”

Halak refused to address the comments, and has not spoken to the media since last night’s loss. Mike Cammalleri says he believes that Halak is just as calm and cool as ever, and Scott Gomez dismissed the notion that perhaps he should talk to young netminder. Certainly can’t fault Gomez for wanting to keep his distance, as goaltenders are a different breed altogether from the rest of the players in the locker room. “Weird”, as Gomez puts it.

While I certainly wasn’t close enough to see Halak’s hand shaking, it certainly appeared that he was thrown off his game. The Capitals were crashing the net hard starting late in the second period, and Halak was routinely and angrily addressing the officials after several goals. He was uncomfortable in his net, was not as aggressive playing shots and was beat badly on what could be called a soft goal to allow the tying score in the late minutes of regulation.

The way that Habs fans can turn on their players, Halak could be in for a tough game if he struggles once more. But then, the other option is Carey Price; Montreal fans aren’t exactly happy with him either.