from Chuck Gormley of CSN Mid-Atlantic,

The Capitals have made great strides winning games when Alex Ovechkin does not score a goal -- they are 19-7-5 in games their captain plays but doesn’t score – but as you can imagine, they’re far better when he does.

In the 35 games this season Ovechkin has lit the lamp, the Caps are 30-5-0. Which is probably why there’s a greater emphasis when Ovechkin, who has a league-high 41 goals, slips into a scoring funk like the one he’s in now.

Ovechkin has just one goal in his last eight games. The Caps are 4-3-1 in those games but when asked about his captain’s recent scoring slump Capitals coach Barry Trotz had an interesting reply.

“I need all our guys to play at the level they need to play at,” Trotz said following Saturday night’s 5-2 loss in San Jose, in which Ovechkin was held to just two shots.

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