The Capitals pivot has been finding his game again, and in turn, so has his team.
WASHINGTON — When Nic Dowd's on his game, it's contagious.
The Washington Capitals center has made his mark over 500 games now with the organization, a feat he never thought he'd reach at all in the NHL altogether. However, with his hard-working attitude, grit and hockey IQ, Dowd has led the way as an underrated two-way center who can truly do it all.
And ultimately, that's what's brought the Capitals back to life before the Olympic break.
"He's been excellent," coach Spencer Carbery said of Dowd, adding, "He's leading the way when it comes to urgency level and playing with winning habits... when guys see him doing it, it's hard not to follow suit and be doing the same little things."
Dowd has two goals, a shootout winner and an assist over the last three games, all key wins for Washington as the team claws its way back up the standings and attempts to enter the Olympic break back in playoff position.
On Monday, in the 34-year-old's milestone game, his goal — a backdoor pass that went off Tony DeAngelo and in — helped propel the Capitals to a key victory over the New York Islanders and move within two points of one of their Metropolitan Division rivals for third place.
"He's a huge leader. Five hundred games for this group, for the Capitals. It's obviously amazing," Martin Fehervary said. "He's such a great person and player on the ice and off the ice. We love him and I think he really deserved attention."
It hasn't been the easiest season for Dowd, who's been a constant over the last eight seasons. With Pierre-Luc Dubois injured, he's taken on a higher role and more minutes in the lineup, while also playing with a handful of new linemates on a nightly basis.
All the while, he's been trying to maintain his identity as a hard-nosed, checking forward, and one that can provide much-needed offense when the time comes. It's taken some time to recapture that, but just when the team needs it the most, he's found it again.
Over the last few games, Dowd's been able to find his game, and in turn, the team has, too.
"Being physical, going through people, getting in shot lanes, (blocking shots, generating clears), those little things that you have to do consistently through your lineup, he's doing it at a real high level and he's leading the charge in thsoe categories," Carbery said. "We needed it; he's done a real good job."
That said, it's not hard to see the correlation; as Dowd rises, so do the Capitals.
"(He does) so many little things right," Anthony Beauvillier said.
For Dowd, though, getting back to his game has revolved around one of hockey's oldest clichés: getting pucks deep.
"We have to (do that). Our game comes below the tops of the circles in the offensive zone, right? We have a lot of really highly-skilled guys, but if we don't get there, those guys can't make those skilled plays," Dowd said. "We use our defense a ton, too, so we require our D to make a lot of plays in the O-zone and they do, and that's what makes us successful. But if we never get there, we just start relying on rush plays and we have guys that can do that, but that's a tough way to live, especially when you're playing teams that play really good defense."
The Capitals have two more games before the Olympic break, a meeting with the Philadelphia Flyers in the second half of a back-to-back on Tuesday and one final stop at home against the Nashville Predators.
And all the while, Dowd's just happy to be part of the journey.
"I'm privileged to be part of this group that's in here today, but also the span of the last eight years I've been here," Dowd said. "Me and my family are very lucky."