ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) 鈥� Alex Ovechkin approached linemates Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas after the to do some film study.
The trio who had never before played together watched their shifts from that game, and Ovechkin thought they needed to be more predictable, hesitate less and find one another for passes quicker.
It worked, and the result has been a hot start for the Capitals and their 39-year-old captain who is faster than most expected. Ovechkin has five goals in his past four games to get on pace to catch and pass Wayne Gretzky for the before the end of the season 鈥� and Washington has won eight of 11.
鈥淲e鈥檙e connecting, playing for each other, and that鈥檚 the most important thing,鈥� Ovechkin said Tuesday. "It doesn鈥檛 matter if you鈥檙e scoring goals or make an assist, you just have to do the same thing over and over again.鈥�
Ovechkin has done the same thing 鈥� put the puck in the net 鈥� in the history of the sport. Seven goals this season have gotten him to 860, 35 back of breaking the record.
鈥淚t鈥檚 fun to play with him, to just see his excitement every time he goes on the ice and scores goals,鈥� Protas said. 鈥淵ou want to help him more with that, want to be with him and get the energy out of it because he鈥檚 a phenomenal player, for sure. He鈥檚 chasing something special right now, and for sure it鈥檚 great to be with him and be a part of it.鈥�
Ovechkin taking it into his own hands by reviewing game tape with younger teammates is something coach Spencer Carbery called 鈥渓eadership 101.鈥� Protas said it has been very helpful, and it doesn't hurt that the advice came from a superstar with Ovechkin's resume.
鈥淎ny time when he speaks up about where we need to be offensively and how we can be better, obviously we鈥檙e going to listen,鈥� said Strome, who is tied for fifth in the league with 13 assists and leads the Capitals in scoring with 17 points. "It鈥檚 a good combination right now, so (we've) got to keep it rolling.鈥�
Ovechkin, who on Monday was named the NHL's first star of the week, did not score his seventh goal last season until his 34th game on Dec. 30. Asked what was different, he joked, 鈥淪tromer find me and give me the puck.鈥�
Strome doesn't necessarily disagree. His philosophy when playing with Ovechkin is simple: 鈥淕et him the puck.鈥�
鈥淕ot to play with your instincts. If your instincts are the guy that has 860 goals is open, you鈥檙e probably going to want to pass the puck to him,鈥� Strome said. 鈥淗e's making great plays, too. That鈥檚 the thing: It鈥檚 not just his goals. I think his assists are up, too, and he鈥檚 making really good passes and we鈥檙e finding a way to connect.鈥�
Ovechkin has seven assists. Last month, he joined Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Jaromir Jagr, Marcel Dionne and Phil Esposito as .
And it's not just Ovechkin, Strome and Protas who are producing. Connor McMichael has matched Ovechkin with seven goals, and Tom Wilson has six to in style.
The Capitals are scoring 4.18 goals a game, third in the NHL, after averaging 2.63 last season to rank 28th out of 32 teams.
鈥淚 feel like we鈥檙e just a way better team offensively,鈥� Carbery said. "We鈥檙e possessing the puck, which in the end, we鈥檙e controlling more play this year than last year.鈥�
After and getting by the New York Rangers, the Capitals were offensively. And while things have been good so far, players understand there's a long way to go and success can be fleeting.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e winning, it鈥檚 always nice, but there鈥檚 going to be ups and downs,鈥� Ovechkin said. 鈥淲e have to see how we鈥檙e going to respond when we go down because those days are always going to be there. And we just have to stick together.鈥�
NOTES: Defenseman Matt Roy, who was injured in the season opener on Oct. 12, is set to return Wednesday against Nashville. ... Carbery said defenseman Jakob Chychrun, who has been out the past week with an upper-body injury, is progressing but not ready to join the team for practice.
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AP NHL:
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
