The Washington Capitals find themselves in the race for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, they have struggled mightily this season offensively. In fact, they have just three players with 10 or more goals this season. Surprisingly, one of those players is not future Hall of Famer Alex Ovechkin.

Ovechkin is chasing down Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal-scoring record. That said, the 2023-24 NHL season has not been kind to him. The Capitals star has just nine goals through 44 games this year. This is despite him leading Washington in shots with 151.

Ahead of Washington's return from the All-Star break, Ovechkin addressed his goal-scoring woes. And he admitted that the only person who can turn things around is him. “Obviously it's up to me what I have to do better to get those shots to go in,” the Capitals star said, via NHL.com.

“But sometimes maybe you're not going to have 100 percent chances but you to have to use it. And then when the first goal goes in, you feel much [more] comfortable and you feel much better with your game,” Ovechkin continued on Monday.

Capitals still have playoff ambition, per Alex Ovechkin

Despite Washington's struggles, they still have one goal in mind. After missing in 2023, they want to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2024. And Ovechkin believes the Capitals can do it with the players they have on the roster.

“We want to be fighting for the Cup. It's up to us what and how we want to play. If you look on our names on the lines, it's pretty good lines,” the future Hall of Famer told NHL.com.

As of now, they face an uphill battle. Washington finds themselves seven points back of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings for the two wild card spots in the East. However, they are just three points back of the New York Islanders, who are the closest to those two clubs in the race.

It's up to us. We have to use our chances,” Ovechkin said of his team's playoff hunt, via NHL.com. “We have to play smart on [defense], neutral zone, and don't make stupid mistakes, decisions that are going to cost us the game.”

Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals return to the ice on Tuesday. Let's see if they can take down the Montreal Canadiens and close the gap between them and the other playoff contenders in the Eastern Conference.