Haraz N. Ghanbari / AP

Montreal’s Tomas Plekanec (14) is congratulated by teammates after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime against Washington on Thursday. The Canadiens lead the series 1-0.

updated 11:53 p.m. ET April 15, 2010

WASHINGTON - Alex Ovechkin didn’t have a shot on goal. Not a single one. The NHL’s best scoring machine got upstaged by a player who, in the spirit of the week’s bit of trash-talking, did his best impersonation of Jaromir Jagr.

On a night in which the two-time reigning MVP was neutralized, Tomas Plekanec was the perfect spoil sport for the Montreal Canadiens, scoring 13:19 into overtime as the Eastern Conference’s No. 8 seed beat the top-seeded Washington Capitals 3-2.

It was Plekanec who traded gibes this week with Washington goalie Jose Theodore.

Plekanec basically said that Theodore was no Martin Brodeur or Ryan Miller, and Theodore shot back that Plekanec wasn’t exactly Jagr. Just to add to the fun, Plekanec’s jersey number on the greaseboard in the Canadiens’ locker room was listed as Jagr’s 68 — instead of Plekanec’s 14.

“It was the first day that quote came out ... I didn’t like it, but we have had a good laugh about it the next day,” Plekanec said. “I never said anything bad about their goaltending. I said they had really good goalies and they proved it.”

Theodore also laughed off the back-and-forth between the two, as well as the irony that he gave up the deciding goal to the player he needled.

“It was just to set up the mood for the playoffs,” Theodore said. “Tomas is a great player.”

Plekanec silenced the sellout crowd by taking the puck near the red line, skating into the offensive zone and scoring on a drive from high in the slot that beat Theodore to the stick side, making Montreal the latest among several lower-seeded teams to pull a Game 1 upset in the NHL playoffs this week.

Jagr would have been proud.

Slideshow   Alexander the Great Take a look at Capitals star and two-time MVP Alexander Ovechkin more photos

But the most amazing development was the blank sheet from Ovechkin, who scored 50 goals in the regular season and took an NHL-high 368 shots.

Ovechkin said Thursday morning he might be “a little bit nervous and a little bit shaky” in his third go-round in the playoffs, and maybe that caused him and his teammates to use up all their energy in the first period — because the Capitals controlled the flow of play early, then appeared to tire as the game wore on.

“He didn’t play good,” Washington coach Bruce Boudreau said. “They gapped up real well on him, but I don’t think Alex played very well. ... Our best players weren’t our best players tonight, and their best players were.”

It didn’t help that Ovechkin was shadowed most everywhere he went by defenseman Jaroslav Spacek, or that he had five shot attempts blocked. The Capitals played at their preferred up-and-down pace for a little more than a period — and the Canadians controlled the rest of the game.

Mike Ehrmann / Getty Images The Week in Sports Pictures The nation grieved for those hurt, killed and affected by the Boston Marathon bombings. After one of the suspects was caught on Friday — following a day-long lockdown and manhunt — sports returned to Boston over the weekend.

“Right now I’m mad, and right now we’re disappointed, but tomorrow’s a new day,” said Ovechkin, who was held without a shot only once in the regular season. “They just don’t give us the room. They put two guys in front of me ... We’re going to watch the game and make some changes.”

Game 2 is Saturday at 1 p.m. on NBC in Washington.

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Bill Smith / Getty Images Contributor

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