The Capitals captain has gone 11 games without a goal. What's going on, and what gives with the lack of production so far?

As he pursues the NHL's greatest record and fights to be the league's greatest goal scorer of all time, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin finds himself in unfamiliar territory: for nearly a month, he's been unable to find twine.

Ovechkin has gone 11 games without a goal, which officially marks the longest goal drought of Ovechkin's storied 19-year career, which last came from Feb. 22 to March 17, 2017. He still finished with 33 goals that season, as his greatness remained intact while his team won the President's Trophy.

But this is different.

Different in the sense that the Russian has just five goals to his name through 26 games and is on pace to finish with 16 goals, which would mark the first time ever that he finishes a season with under 20 goals.

And different in the sense that he sits at 827 career goals, and given his struggles, critics are wondering if catching Wayne Gretzky is still within the realm of possibility.

So, what's going on with Ovechkin, and is his chase of No. 99 still a reality?

Let's take a deeper dive.

First off, not much has changed when it comes to his shooting speed or mentality. He is still in the 97th percentile when it comes to shots and has 94 this season, ranking 23rd in the league in that department.

He is on pace to finish with 296 SOG, one more than last season, where he missed nine games due to injury and personal family matters following the death of his father.

His vintage shot is also still in top form; his top shot speed this season is 96.68 miles per hour, and 48 of his 90 shots on goal are above 80 MPH.

So what's the crux of the situation? Those chances are just not going on.

Out of 191 shot attempts, 58 have been blocked and 39 of Ovechkin's shots have gone wide of the net, as 20 percent of those attempts have missed the mark completely. It also doesn't help that his shooting percentage is at a career-low of 5.32 percent.

He's also not capitalizing on his high-danger chances. Seventeen of his shots have been on high-danger chances this season, and he's scored on just one of them (5.9 percent). Last season, he had 13 goals on 75 high-danger opportunities (17.3 percent).

As the pressure piles on, he's maintaining his composure, but he's not hiding from the ugly truth, either.

"I think sometimes you kind of forget when you have those kind of shots, but if I have a chance to put the puck in I have to, you know?" Ovechkin said bluntly.

He's also still finding ways to produce and leads all forwards with 11 assists. He is still on pace to finish with 50 points, as he's operating at a .62 point-per-game pace.

When it comes to the cause of Ovechkin's woes, there's not one clear answer, and it doesn't just fall on him, either.

It also doesn't help that his team's power play is ailing greatly, converting on just five of 73 opportunities this season. Ovechkin has just one goal on the man advantage this season, and it came on a backdoor tap-in and marked career power-play goal No. 300.

Other than that, he hasn't been receiving passes in his wheelhouse, and not having Nicklas Backstrom on the half-wall — Backstrom has assisted on most of Ovechkin's goals over the course of his career — doesn't help, either, and that's not just from an on-ice perspective.

Beyond the power play, the team is also struggling to find offense at 5-on-5, though the last three games indicate an upward trend in that direction and have also seen Ovechkin start to get more opportunities.

Critics are also wondering if Father Time is playing a role, as Ovechkin turned 38 on Sept. 17. Still, talent doesn't just evaporate in a span of months.

Ovechkin also dealt with a couple of injuries last season, and he did say that having an extended offseason would help in terms of recovery. It's unclear if something is still ailing him, though.

The truth is there's still time for the 6-3, 238-pound winger to turn around, and he is still adjusting to new head coach Spencer Carbery's systems.

Ultimately, teammates are confident that Ovechkin, who hit 1,500 career NHL points on Thursday, will find his touch, with several offering a simple warning: to never bet against "the big man," as all it takes is one game or one hot streak to get back up to speed.

"Once he finds the back of the net, it could be a 10-game stretch where he's just scoring and scoring," Connor McMichael said. "You never want to count him out, and I don't think it'd be a smart idea to do that."

Carbery added that it's only a matter of time for the star to bust out, and all it takes is 60 minutes.

"He's in a good headspace," Carbery said. "He feels as confident as ever and knows that it's only a matter of time before some of these chances start falling for him.

"Focus on the process. Focus on getting yourself into those spots. Focus on having an O-zone shift, being good with your touches, and I think he knows that," he added. "He knows that his opportunity and shots will eventually start falling. And I think once they start, to [McMichael's] point, that could snowball."