NHL Power Rankings: Ovechkin carrying Capitals

For some teams, just making the playoffs is a success. For the Capitals, this used to be the case, but it’s not an acceptable standard anymore. The Capitals have made the playoffs in each of the past six seasons, but haven’t advanced past the second round, and are always expected to be one of the Eastern Conference’s top teams.

At 17-12-2 with 36 points, they trail only the Penguins in the Metropolitan Division. There’s really only one man to thank for their success, and he wears No. 8.

Alex Ovechkin has 26 goals in 29 games this season after a four-goal outburst Tuesday. Down 3-0 to the Lightning 10 minutes into the game, Ovechkin scored four times to lead the Caps to a 6-5 shootout win. He leads a Washington offense that ranks seventh in goals per game (2.9) and third in power-play percentage (22.4 percent). The next closest goal scorer on the team is Mikhail Grabovski with nine.

Washington has goaltending issues, but if Ovechkin keeps up this torrid pace, it should hardly matter. The question is, can he keep it up in the playoffs? Last season, Ovechkin had one goal in Washington’s seven-game, opening-round loss to the Rangers. If he can bring his scoring touch to the postseason, perhaps Washington finally will win that elusive Stanley Cup.

(Last week’s ranking in parentheses)

1. Blackhawks (1): Antti Raanta did just fine in his first start since Corey Crawford went down with an injury, making 27 saves in a 6-2 win against the Stars on Tuesday. Chicago has scored 12 goals in the past two games.

2. Kings (2): It doesn’t really matter whom they throw in net. Martin Jones had 31 saves in a 6-0 blanking of the Canadiens on Tuesday and has two straight shutouts for the Kings.

3. Bruins (4): Jarome Iginla’s first trip back to Calgary was a success, even though he didn’t register a point. He received a warm ovation from the crowd and the Bruins scored two third-period goals to earn a 2-1 win.

4. Ducks (7): Took six of eight points from the other four teams that make up the top five in the Western Conference with road wins against the Blackhawks and Blues and shootout losses to the Kings and Sharks.

5. Blues (6): With a 2-1 win against the Jets on Tuesday, the Blues improved to 10-2-0 against the Eastern Conference.

6. Penguins (5): The defense took a big hit when Brooks Orpik was placed on injured reserve Monday with a concussion after he was knocked out by the Bruins’ Shawn Thornton last week.

7. Sharks (3): That’s four straight losses for the Sharks following a six-game winning streak. The league’s third-best offense (3.3 goals per game) has seven goals in those games.

8. Canadiens (11): A five-game winning streak came to a crashing halt as Montreal was blown out 6-0 by Los Angeles on Tuesday. They had been giving up an average of two goals per game.

9. Canucks (14): Just like that the Canucks are playing like the contenders we knew they were. Vancouver has won five in a row, allowing six goals thanks to the goaltending duo of Roberto Luongo and Eddie Lack.

10. Wild (9): Big wins against the Blackhawks and Sharks last week but now comes the tough part with three road games in four days against the Ducks, Sharks and Avalanche.

11. Coyotes (10): Phoenix is 7-1-1 against the Eastern Conference, and lucky for them they play their next six against the East.

12. Red Wings (12): Pavel Datsyuk had a goal and an assist in his return to the lineup after missing seven games with a concussion, but the Red Wings still lost to the Panthers 3-2 in a shootout Tuesday.

13. Avalanche (8): How long before Jean-Sebastien Giguere becomes the everyday starter? He’s 7-1 with a 1.83 goals against average and a .940 save percentage this season.

14. Capitals (16): Can I interest you in those four Ovechkin goals?

15. Stars (15): How valuable is Tyler Seguin to the Stars? Dallas is 6-2-1 when he scores a goal.

16. Lightning (13): There’s no doubt they miss Steven Stamkos. Tampa Bay has lost eight of 13 since the superstar broke his tibia.

17. Jets (18): A mediocre team (14-14-4) has four wins and four losses in past eight games, scoring 19 goals and giving up 18.

18. Maple Leafs (17): The Leafs have lost seven of 10 games and haven’t won a game in regulation since a 5-2 win against the Islanders on Nov. 19.

19. Devils (19): Can’t lose games like they did on Tuesday, when a 3-1 lead ended up in a 5-4 loss to the Blue Jackets. New Jersey outshot Columbus 18-5 in the third period.

20. Predators (21): Carter Hutton got his first start in exactly a month and made 28 saves to backstop the Predators to a 4-1 win against the Rangers, which stopped a five-game losing streak.

21. Rangers (20): A nine-game homestand means nothing if you can’t take advantage of it, and the Rangers certainly haven’t, going 0-2-1 thus far. They’re 1-6-1 in the past eight games at MSG.

22. Hurricanes (24): Impressive wins against the Capitals, Predators and Sharks, in large part thanks to the efforts of Jeff Skinner, who has six goals and two assists in four games.

23. Blue Jackets (25): It took an injury to All-Star goalie Sergei Bobrovsky for the Blue Jackets to play better. They’ve won three of four, including a 5-4 comeback win over the Devils Tuesday and two shutout victories behind Curtis McElhinney before that.

24. Flyers (22): Steve Mason has allowed 11 regulation goals in three games as the Flyers are hovering around the final playoff spot. Remind us again, when’s the last time the Flyers had a good goaltender – 2003?

25. Senators (23): When your leading scorer is a defenseman (Erik Karlsson, 29 points), it’s no wonder you’re in sixth place in the division.

26. Flames (26): All three goalies the Flames have used this season have GAAs above 3.00 and save percentages under .900.

27. Panthers (29): Three wins in four games, including two against the Red Wings. Florida has a long way to go, but is definitely showing signs of life.

28. Oilers (28): Taylor Hall has five goals and two assists in three games for the Oilers, who had an impressive 8-2 win against the Avalanche last week.

29. Islanders (27): Kyle Okposo scored with under two minutes remaining and the Islanders edged the Sharks, 3-2, in a shootout Tuesday to end a 10-game winless streak. It was their first win in 24 days.

30. Sabres (30): It’s only a matter of time before Ryan Miller exits Buffalo. And you can’t blame him. He’s faced the second most shots and has the second most saves for a team that’s scored the fewest goals in the league.