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Ovechkin heating up, Caps heating up

New York Rangers v Washington Capitals

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 28: Alexander Semin #28 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals after scoring a goal against the New York Rangers during the third period at Verizon Center on December 28, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

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Don’t look now, but Alex Ovechkin is starting to show flashes of—Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin dropped two more goals on Friday night to help lead the Caps to a 3-1 win over the struggling Sabres.

His first period goal on the man-advantage was his first power play goal at home in almost 10 months. It’s hard to believe that Ovechkin hasn’t scored a power play goal at the Phone Booth since the beginning of March. The sellout crowd at the Verizon Center even brought back the “O-Vie” chant. Looks like they’re ready to party like it’s 2009.

Despite Ovechkin’s slower start this season, he now has five goals in his last seven games. He’s still leading the high-powered Capitals in goals (14) and he’s second on the team in points. Does that say more about the lofty expectations fans have for Ovechkin or the underwhelming offensive performances of the rest of the team? Probably both.

Think about how dangerous the Capitals could be if their superstar sniper can start finding the net with some regularity like we had come to expect from him. Head coach Dale Hunter reunited the Nicklas Backstrom/Alexander Semin/Alex Ovechkin trio and it immediately paid dividends. The trio had five points against the Rangers on Wednesday and followed it up with six points against the Sabres on Friday.

“Goals we make are pretty plays but they were simple plays,” Ovechkin said about his new line combination. “We just have to continue what we do right now,” Ovechkin said. “It’s nice when you make some pretty plays and you score the goals, especially when the team needs it. It’s kind of good.”

It should come as no surprise that both games were impressive victories for the Caps. In fact, the Caps have posted a decent 4-2-1 record over a seven game stretch—the same seven game stretch that has featured a reemerging Ovechkin. It may not be the best run in the league thus far, but a few more 4-2-1 runs would at least have the Caps in a playoff spot.

Funny how a little goal scoring can make a coach look so much smarter.