Unfortunately, not. At times like these it’s helpful to have someone there as an observer to give an outside viewpoint of things – like when travelling by bus! But not when taking photos. NHL: Washington Capitals at Chicago BlackhawksARLINGTON, Va. — After watching their shifts during Game 2, Alex Ovechkin approached Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas from Washington Capitals’ inaugural season to conduct some film analysis for film study purposes. Ovechkin thought this trio, with no prior history playing together before that matchup occurred, should become more predictable, hesitate less frequently during shifts, find one another faster for passes more frequently and be more predictable as teammates in general – which worked perfectly to kick start Washington Caps’ season off-ice. Headed towards one of Hockey’s untouchable records quicker than many expected him, Captain Ovechkin may soon catch one record after all other captains before anyone expected! Ovechkin has scored five goals in four consecutive games to put himself on pace to catch and surpass Wayne Gretzky for NHL career goals before the end of this season – helping Washington win eight out of 11. “Playing together, connecting as teammates is the main priority,” Ovechkin noted. “No matter whether it is scoring goals or making assists, to be effective you need to do one thing over and over. Ovechkin has done that better than anyone but Gretzky in history of hockey – put puck in net! Protas has scored seven goals this season to move his total up to 860 and is 35 short of breaking the record for scoring goals by an individual player in history. “It’s enjoyable playing alongside him; seeing his excitement when he goes onto the ice and scores goals!” Protas noted. “To help him more, you want to be there with him and harness that energy – because he’s such an outstanding player! Right now he is looking for something special; being part of it all would certainly be rewarding. ” Coach Spencer Carbery described Ovechkin taking matters into his own hands by reviewing game tape with younger teammates as part of “Leadership 101.” Protas said this has proven immensely helpful and that guidance from an NHL superstar like Ovechkin only serves to strengthen him even more.” “Any time he brings up issues on offense and how we could improve, obviously we listen,” noted Strome who leads Washington with 17 points while sitting fifth overall among league assists with 13. Ovechkin recently earned the NHL’s First Star of the Week title and responded when asked what has changed between this season and last with “Stromer finding me and giving me the puck. “Stome doesn’t necessarily differ with this theory; his approach when playing against Ovechkin is simple: give him the puck.” According to Strome, players need to listen to their instincts if an open player with 860 goals has 860 of them himself and Strome noted they often make great plays themselves as he made many great passes for Ovechkin during practice sessions. “[Ovechkin is making great plays of course].” Ovechkin’s assists have increased, too; we’re finding our rhythm with each other.” Ovechkin now boasts seven assists on his six goals scored so far this season. Last month, Ovechkin joined Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Jaromir Jagr, Marcel Dionne and Phil Esposito as one of only seven players with 700 goals and 700 assists – Ovechkin himself, Strome and Protas all contributing goals and assists. Tom Wilson has also scored six to start off his new contract well. Overall, the Capitals are scoring 4.18 goals a game – third best among 32 NHL clubs! Compared with 2.63 last season. Carbery felt that his team has improved offensively this season. By controlling more play than before and possessing more puck, they had more success at controlling play this year. “After barely sneaking into the playoffs and being routed in their opening series by New York Rangers, Washington Capitals underwent extensive rebuilding to become more offensively effective. Though things have gone well so far, players recognize there’s still much work ahead and success can quickly fade. Ovechkin noted, “when winning is nice but we need to assess our responses when times get difficult because those days will always come,” but added, “let’s stick together as one team!”