After Nicklas Backstrom detailed all that teammate Alex Ovechkin has meant to the Washington Capitals over the years — especially highlighting the Russian’s goalscoring prowess — Ovechkin pretended to wipe a tear from his eye.
“The way he shoots the puck, the way he scores, the way he plays the game is just fun to see,” Backstrom said Tuesday. “As a teammate, you’re just enjoying every moment.”
Backstrom wasn’t being overly effusive. It’s hard, after all, to overstate Ovechkin’s impact. While the legend’s season got off to a slow start — he was sidelined for four games due to coronavirus protocols — Ovechkin has become the driving force in Washington’s run to the top of the East Division, as he has been for so many years.
With his fifth goal in his last six games, Ovechkin tallied score No. 718 of his career — putting him in sole possession of sixth place on the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring list. Only Wayne Gretzky required fewer games to reach that milestone than Ovechkin.
But even with that accomplishment, and praise from Backstrom that brought a mock-tear to his eye, Ovechkin isn’t bogged down by those heady numbers during his team’s torrid run.
“It’s history, it’s pretty good numbers and happy to be in that category,” Ovechkin said. “But just move forward. You know, it’s done, how I say, it’s history. It was very good match, big points and obviously big numbers.”
Ovechkin’s season sputtered out of the gate when he and three teammates landed on the NHL’s coronavirus protocols list. He had scored one goal in his first four games, then missed his team’s next four contests.
When Ovechkin returned in late January, he had trouble finding his usually reliable form. His first game back, he notched two points against the Boston Bruins, then tallied two goals and two assists in a loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Feb. 7. But over his next 11 games, Ovechkin lit the lamp just twice.
“The beginning of the year probably just wasn’t perfect for him,” coach Peter Laviolette said. “You know, with coming in late like we did to start the season, and then with him getting hooked up in quarantine, probably just wasn’t the right start. But through it, he was still generating offense and generating opportunities.”
The Capitals were competitive, even without Ovechkin’s goals, hanging around the top of a tight division. With five goals in his last six games, though, Ovechkin is looking more like the elite player he’s been for most of his career.
And Washington has won its last six games, including Tuesday’s victory against the New York Islanders, a stretch in which Ovechkin has tallied six points. Beyond that, the Capitals have lost just once in their last 11 contests, vaulting them to a tie with the Islanders atop the East Division. Ovechkin is a major part of that charge.
“Now, it seems like [his shots are] finding the back of the net a little bit more,” Laviolette said. “I think the more you get into a rhythm, the more touches you get, guys that make plays and score goals, they need to find that rhythm and score goals and get the touches. And so, for me, certainly has been a big difference. The results have been a big difference, I think, in the last few weeks, where you see the opportunities going in the net.”
The Capitals continue the season with a pair of back-to-back games against the New York Rangers on Friday and Saturday. If their winning streak will continue, Ovechkin will likely have a lot to do with it — chasing down Marcel Dionne, the fifth-leading scorer in NHL history, with each goal Ovechkin scores.
“We’ve seen him do it year after year,” Backstrom said. “It’s just so impressive.”
• Andy Kostka can be reached at akostka@washingtontimes.com.
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