Ovechkin now has three goals in his last three games after starting the season with two in 12 for the Capitals.
WASHINGTON — Coming off the bench for his 4-on-4 shift on Saturday, Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin found himself completely left alone as the Columbus Blue Jackets all elected to go after Dylan Strome in the corner. Upon receiving Strome's pass right on the tape, he fired home his 827th career goal, a stark reminder that he's still one of — if not the greatest — goal scorer of all time.
The 38-year-old has not had the easiest start to the season, but of late, he's starting to get the offense back. He has three goals in his last three games after starting the season with two in 12.
That said, is he starting to feel the offense coming back to him?
In a way, yes, but there's still work to do.
"It's still not perfect yet," he pointed out.
Ovechkin has five goals in 15 games, putting him on pace for 27 this season. It would keep him on pace to break Wayne Gretzky's all-time NHL goals record within the span of his current contract.
And while his production of late indicates a trend in the right direction, there's still areas where the 6-3, 238-pound winger wants to improve.
"I think last couple games, I think our line have pretty good chances," he pointed out, adding, "I think overall, if you take power play, moments 5-on-5... I think we start getting better."
The power play is the elephant in the room right now for Washington. The Capitals have now gone eight straight games without a power-play goal and are 0-for-21 over that span, and overall, they are 3-for-43 on the season and operating at 7 percent, which ranks second-to-last-last in the league.
There's still work to be done at 5-on-5, too. Washington has been seeing its bottom-6 mesh well and generate, but the top-6 still has work to do and more chemistry to build. The Capitals' 2.47 goals per game are the second-least in the league, with the San Jose Sharks only generating less on average.
Still, there's no lingering on stat lines or daily checks on the standings for Ovechkin, and he is confident that he and his team can continue to raise the bar.
Despite lacking offensively, the team has still managed to win four in a row and eight of the last 10 games overall, and with time, the goals will come.
"I think we find a way to play our game... I don't think we look at standings right now," Ovechkin said. "We just play the game as hard as we can, try to collect two points and game by game."