Alexander Ovechkin has possibly played the best two games somebody has ever played without registering a point in his last two performances for the Washington Capitals. Never before have I seen the man, known almost as well for his playoff failures as his highlight reel goals, skate with such energy and passion. To be more blunt, the man has been absolutely possessed.

Ovechkin has become known for shrinking when the bright lights of the Stanley Cup Playoffs shine on him.  In the past he’s been too easy to shut down, his effort level has been questionable, and at times he’s been completely invisible. That couldn’t be any farther from the truth so far this postseason.

His stats aren’t especially eye popping, 4 goals and 4 assists through 11 postseason games, but it can be argued that if it weren’t for Henrik Lundquist and some spectacular play from the Rangers defense his stats would be much more impressive. While the Rangers and Lundquist have been able to keep him off the scoreboard the last two games they haven’t been especially convincing in doing so.

Looking back at game three it’s still hard to figure how Ovechkin was kept off the scoreboard. Everytime he touched the puck the energy in the Verizon Center rose tremendously. There was an fantastic electricity in the building as the onlooking fans watched as their Captain swiveled around helpless defenders and fired BB’s Henrik Lundquist’s way. And if he wasn’t creating scoring chances for himself he was creating opportunities for his teammates which were either squandered or broken up by some desperate defending by a Rangers defenseman.

He even did the unthinkable. He played solid defense. He blocked shots, disrupted shooting lanes, and served as a human bowling bowl, flying around the ice tossing helpless Rangers as if they were pins.

Of course fans won’t forget his heroic efforts in Game 1 with his goal and assist on Joel Ward’s last second winner, but they must also not ignore his efforts in Games 3 and 4. I’d argue that he played better in those games then the first two despite his being kept off the scoreboard.

Ovechkin has done it all so far this postseason, leading his team by example with a fire that I have never seen him play with before, a level of intensity that he has never quite reached before in career maybe even his life. That is why the Capitals hold a 3-1 lead on the Rangers and Ovechkin is one win away from reaching the Eastern Conference Finals.

Some may point to the contributions of unsung heros such as Jay Beagle and Andre Burakovsky, but anybody who has watched the Capitals this postseason knows the undeniable truth. Everything the Caps do begins and ends with number 8.