Ovechkin Says He Saw Halak 'Shaking' in Game 2

Alex Ovechkin tried to draw Jaroslav Halak into a war of words over the weekend - but the Montreal Canadiens goalie would have none of it.

The Washington Capitals sniper caused a flap when he told reporters that he saw Halak "shaking" after surrendering a goal to Washington's Eric Fehr in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series on Saturday.

Footage after the goal does indeed show Halak's right arm twitching noticeably as he takes a swig from his water bottle. But was it a sign of nervousness or just involuntary nerves? Watch the video below and judge for yourself.

"I watched the replay when (Fehr) scored the goal and his arm was shaking when he drink water," Ovechkin told reporters after Washington's comeback victory. "So he's nervous. He knows the pressure's on him and it's a good sign for us."

Halak allowed five more goals after Fehr's tally as the Capitals completed an improbable, whirlwind comeback in overtime to win 6-5 and tie the series up at one apiece. Game 3 goes Monday night at the Bell Centre.

The Habs' netminder refused to address Ovechkin's comments with reporters on Sunday, saying he did not want to get into a "war of words" through the media.

But his Montreal teammates were quick to dismiss Ovechkin's remarks.

"Jaro's a pretty calm, cool, collected cat and I've never seen him shaking, so I'm not worried about it," an unfazed Mike Cammalleri told the Canadian Press.

This isn't the first time a player's words have sparked controversy this series.

Earlier, Canadiens forward Tomas Plekanec mocked Washington's goaltenders by saying Jose Theodore and Semyon Varlamov were not of the same calibre as Martin Broduer or Ryan Miller.

Theodore shot back at the Czech player by asking, "Tomas who? Jagr?"

Plekanec later went on to back up his testy words by shooting the overtime winner past Theodore in Game 1.