Ovechkin On Surge WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin is back. And for the Washington Capitals, his return to form couldn't come at a better time. The Capitals captain is back to his vintage ways, as the goals just keep pouring in to open the unofficial second half of the season. He has scored in five straight contests, and he has 16 points in his last 15 games. "It's nice to see the big man rolling," linemate T.J. Oshie said. That wasn't the story just a couple of weeks ago, though. The 38-year-old was in the throes of one of the most challenging times of his career, struggling to do the one thing he does best: score. He had just nine goals before the All-Star Break, and those tallies were far and few between as he also suffered the longest goal drought of his career (14 games) at one point. Before the break, he scored a vintage-looking goal from the point on the power play for his ninth of the season to close out an underwhelming first half on a high note. Then, he flew to Dubai so he and his family could get away for a bit. Away from hockey, away from the noise, away from the pressure of breaking a record once thought to be impossible. "He's had a recipe for how he spends his All-Star break. Traditionally, he's played well in the second half of seasons, and I think this is no different for him to get a mental [reset]... [to] be able to come back refreshed and ready for the stretch run. That looks like right now probably what's taking place It turns out that's exactly what the doctor ordered, as Ovechkin had the time to reflect on his struggles and has since returned a completely different player. "The puck goes in, it's a good thing," Ovechkin said modestly. "I'll take it and move on." But it's not just that the puck is going in. Ovechkin has taken the steps to improve his game and capitalize on his chances. He's playing with more speed and energy, he's shooting when he gets the opportunity and his timing is back. Everything has come together for him, and it's resulted in an all-too-familiar sight: red lights. "He's doing a great job as a goal scorer, putting himself in positions to shoot the puck," Nic Dowd said. "He's playing at a real high level. I feel like he's even skating a little bit more, I feel like there's a little bit more jump in his step... it's a positive, positive step, because we need him, and it's well-documented, our production issues," head coach Spencer Carbery added. "So for him to get going, and even in the way he's scoring — I know these aren't highlight reels and in off skates — but these are positive things and you can feel him gaining more confidence as each one goes in and as he gets on a little bit of a roll." It's also his play without the puck that's made a difference. "He's shooting the puck really well, obviously. He's doing a lot of little things really well that I think are helping us out defensively that are leading to offense and odd-man rushes for him," Oshie said. "He's coming back in the D zone and stopping in a good area. It just sets our team up for success when all five guys are doing that." At the end of the day, it's a testament to the work he's put in to come back stronger. He is back on pace for a 20-goal season, and he is now up to 835 career goals and needs just 60 more to break Wayne Gretzky's all-time scoring record. "He's hot right now. Obviously we know he scores goals, so to have him on the streak, he is really helping us obviously. We're all happy to see it." As for Ovechkin, it's just business as usual. "How I said, I try to do my job and you know, just play right style of game and be out there and help the team to win," Ovechkin said.
