A shocked Ovechkin met the media in front of his stall inside the somber Capitals' dressing room at Verizon Center following Montreal's 2-1 win in Game 7 on Wednesday night. Here is what the captain had to say:
Q: What does this feel like?
Ovechkin: "I think we're all disappointed, but I have nothing to say right now."
Q: How difficult was it trying to solve Halak over the last couple of games?
Ovechkin: "I think he played great. I don't have words to say something on Halak. I think everybody is disappointed."
Q: Have you ever felt like this?
Ovechkin: "No, first time."
Q: Are you in shock right now?
Ovechkin: "Yeah."
Q: How much was it them playing great defense and blocking shots compared to you guys just not executing?
Ovechkin: "I don't know. I just don't know."
Q: What did you think of the disallowed goal?
Ovechkin: "Nothing to say, it's done."
Q: Can you compare this to anything you've felt in your entire career?
Ovechkin: "No."
Q: Did you even contemplate the possibility this could happen before the series began?
Ovechkin: "I think we all know we have a pretty good team, but we didn't win when we had to win, so I don't know."
Q: Can you point at one thing and say 'this is what we needed to better'?
Ovechkin: "No, it's a fact that we lose, and I don't know what I have to say right now. It's a terrible feeling right now."
Q: It's only 10 or 15 minutes after it happened so this might be hard, but what does this team not have right now that it needs to win in the playoffs?Ovechkin: "I don't know. I think we have everything and we just lose the game. I don't know. How do I say? I really don't know what to say right now."
Q: Is it just Halak beat you guys. Is that how you look at it? Did he beat you and not the Canadiens?
Ovechkin: "He just played great and they used their chances but we didn't use our chances, so…"
Q: Did Bruce (Boudreau) say anything to you guys after the game or did you say anything to each other?
Ovechkin: "He said we played hard. I don't know. We didn't do what we have to do."
Q: When you get 96 shots on goal in two games and you don't win either one of them, that's not really the hockey you'd expect, right?
Ovechkin: "You are going to watch how we play and how we scored, I don't know. I'm in shock right now and I really don't know what to say."
Q: Is this loss harder to take because of how successful you were in the regular season?
Ovechkin: "The season is the season, and this is the second season and it's the much harder season. It was great to go up 3-1 in the series. It's only one more step to reach four, but we didn't get it."
Q: When the goal is a Stanley Cup and you come up this short, as a two-time MVP and a guy that is expected to lead the team deep in the playoffs, how much does that hurt you personally?
Ovechkin: "You know, it's hard for me but for everybody. We know we can win, but we don't win it. It's pretty hard."
Q: Have you seen a replay of the goal that got waved off?
Ovechkin: "No."
Q: Do you want to see a replay of the goal that got waved off?
Ovechkin: "He made the call and it's no goal, so why do I have to see it. It's the decision and it is what it is."
Follow Dan Rosen on Twitter at: @drosennhl
