NHL

Ovechkin key for Capitals in Game 2 win over Rangers

There was a two-time Hart Trophy winner on the ice last night at Madison Square Garden, but it took about 52 minutes to realize it was No. 8 in white.

Alex Ovechkin spent a total of 13:36 on ice while his Capitals won Game 2 of their conference semifinal playoff series with the Rangers, 3-2, tying the series 1-1 as it shifts to Washington for tomorrow night’s Game 3.

But with his limited ice time, it was still Ovechkin, the league’s most valuable player in 2008 and 2009, who scored the winning goal, a power play wrist shot 12:33 into the third period.

“I was surprised when I turned and no one came to me,” Ovechkin said. “I had a perfect lane for the shot, and I see it and I’m going to the net.”

Playing last night on what was presumably the Capitals’ first line with Brooks Laich and Marcus Johansson, Ovechkin got off a game-high seven shots on net, while also having three blocked. A lot of that was done on the power play, as he got 3:00 on the Capitals’ three man-advantages, none bigger than the final one in the third that resulted from a Brad Richards neutral-zone interference call.

“I think it’s a different game out there,” Ovechkin said, comparing it to the first-round series win over the Bruins in seven games. “I think we have more space, especially in neutral zone and in the offensive zone because they play tight in front of [Henrik] Lundqvist and that makes more opportunity to make a play.”

This season, while under former coach Bruce Boudreau and current coach Dale Hunter, who took over when Boudreau was fired on Nov. 28, the team has instituted a more defensive style of play, one that is in stark contrast to what Ovechkin played in to begin his career.

Now with a bit more constraints on him — along with him lacking the ability or want to fully contribute in his own end — Ovechkin is in a place that he is not familiar with, getting less ice time than teammates like Matt Hnedricks and Jay Beagle.

“He’s one of those guys who’s a team guy,” Hunter said. “He’s the biggest cheerleader when guys are out there blocking shots.”

Ovechkin’s reduced ice time was most evident in Game 7 of the first round, when the team’s season was on the line and he played 16:25 in a 2-1 Capitals’ win.

“It’s [the] most important thing right now to win the series and win the game,” Ovechkin said. “If you’re going to talk about my game time and all that kind of stuff, it’s not the season, it’s the playoffs. You have to suck it up and play for the team.”

The Rangers’ fans at the Garden are also keenly aware of his struggles — just two goals and three assists in the first round — so at the eight- minute mark of each period, the chants go up against him, the same way they did against the Senators’ captain Daniel Alfredsson in the first round.

“I feel good,” Ovechkin said. “Sometimes when you’re not out there you feel like you’re not in the game. But if you have a 10-second shift or five-second shift you just have to go do something.”

Like score the game-winning goal.