Alex Ovechkin aims to continue his scoring binge on Saturday when the Washington Capitals host star rookie Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks.
Ovechkin scored his 10th goal in 15 games and added an assist in the Capitals’ 6-0 rout of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. The three-time Hart Trophy recipient passed Hall of Fame defenseman Paul Coffey to move into sole possession of 15th place on the all-time NHL points list with 1,532, one shy of tying Hall of Famer Mark Recchi for 14th place.
Ovechkin’s goal was his 18th of the season and 840th career, putting him 54 back of Wayne Gretzky for the all-time lead.
Ovechkin notched an assist and Nic Dowd tallied twice in Washington’s 4-2 win in Chicago on Dec. 10. Dowd, however, has been sidelined since suffering an upper-body injury Feb. 20.
The Capitals have cobbled together a 6-2-1 record over their past nine games to move within five points of the Tampa Bay Lightning for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
“Guys have to be feeling good about where we’re at,” Charlie Lindgren told the Washington Post after stepping in for Darcy Kuemper (illness) and recording a 39-save shutout.
“We’ve got to play really consistent hockey here moving forward. Obviously, it’s a one-game-at-a-time approach, but certainly there’s a whole lot of belief here in this locker room that we can make it to the dance. … We believe we can do it. We’re not going to quit.”
That’s a great attitude considering the Capitals saw forward Anthony Mantha (Vegas Golden Knights) and defenseman Joel Edmundson (Toronto Maple Leafs) depart ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline.
“Just another example of these guys pulling together in a difficult situation, losing some players,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said of Thursday’s win. “Goaltender steps up. Incredible performance from our entire group.”
Conversely, the Blackhawks likely have given up looking at the standings long ago. The cellar-dwelling club, however, snapped a seven-game overall skid (0-5-2) and 22-game road losing streak (0-21-1) with a 5-2 victory against the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday.
“It feels good, for sure,” Bedard said. “It’s one win, and (in a) long season it’s not huge, but especially with the streak we’ve been on, it’s really nice to get a couple of points and obviously have some positivity. It’s the first happy plane ride we’ve had in a little bit.”
Bedard, the top overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, set up a pair of goals to boost his team-leading totals in assists (26) and points (43). The 18-year-old, who has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in his past 10 games, also set up a pair of goals in the previous meeting with Washington.
Four power-play goals went a long way toward changing Chicago’s narrative — well, on Tuesday, at least.
“We were getting pucks in and behind them and we had a lot of guys playing physical (on Tuesday), a lot more physical than I thought we have been in the past,” said defenseman Seth Jones, who scored two goals.
“That creates turnovers and creates O-zone time and we just kind of built from there.”
