Capitals face dilemma with Ovechkin's record chase

From a player's perspective, the Washington Capitals' mission over the season's final 34 games is simple.

“We want to be in a playoff spot,” captain Alex Ovechkin said. “We want to be fighting for the top. And I think it's — how I say? — it's up to us.”

Except it's not that simple. We are not at a point in the Capitals' evolution in which playing their best hockey means racking up wins, regardless of the opponent.

These Caps live every night on the edge. And with the NHL trade deadline looming on March 8, that edge is tricky for Ovechkin and the franchise that he both built and has been built around him. After Tuesday night's 5-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens that included an ugly three-goal first period, the Capitals sit on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. The Capitals visited the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.

If the Capitals sell, there's more than just the typical discussion about whom to move and what the appropriate returns would be.

There's a serious discussion with Ovechkin about how any trade makes sense both for the team's competitiveness in the next two seasons — the final two years of his contract — and for his (currently sputtering) pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's NHL goals record.

This is delicate, allowing the core of the most successful team in franchise history to age however gracefully it can while simultaneously getting younger overall — rebuilding without admitting it.

It's why Ovechkin's best argument not to sell might be to get himself going offensively.

That the Capitals are 30th in a 32-team league in goals per game isn't all on Ovechkin. But with only 10 goals in 45 games, it's a big factor.

Consider that through the first 18 seasons of his career, Ovechkin scored 0.61 goals per game. Even after coming off his 13th 40-goal season at 38, he figured to slow down.

He is scoring just 0.22 goals per game, on pace for 17 goals.