Alex Ovechkin’s late-season heater is coming at the right time for the Washington Capitals

He might be the most prolific goal-scorer in hockey history, but that did not hide the fact that Alexander Ovechkin started off the season on a bit of a lull.

However, the Washington Capitals’ captain has picked up steam in the second half of this season, inching Ovechkin closer to reaching Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record of 894 goals, but also inching the Caps closer to making it back to the playoffs.

Over the past week, Ovi has been on a tear, scoring goals in each of his last five games, finding the back of the net eight times over that span. The Russian superstar has bolstered his season total to 26, with 15 more games to add a few more.

While his individual numbers are rising, so is Washington’s status in the Eastern Conference. Following a 3-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, the Capitals (35-26-9) have won five of their last six games, and have taken the second Wild Card spot in the East away from the Detroit Red Wings.

On Monday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk explain why Ovechkin’s recent success is helping both his confidence, as well as the team’s.

Tyler Yaremchuk: It’s just a couple of months ago where we’re like, “This isn’t same old Alexander Ovechkin that we’ve gotten in years past.” Sure enough, an Ovi heater was coming, and it came at a damn good time for the Washington Capitals.

Frank Seravalli: There’s something weird about this for Ovechkin. I don’t know what’s happened to get him to that point. If you look at Ovechkin since the All-Star Break, it’s night-and-day difference. How does a player have eight goals before that, and 18 since? He’s also north of a point per game…I’d love to know what to chalk it up to.

You can watch the entire segment, and full episode here…