Alex Ovechkin is probably not in a great mood as the minutes tick down on Friday's NHL Trade Deadline, watching as two longtime teammates in Anthony Mantha and Evgeny Kuznetsov were shipped to the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes, respectively.

But the Washington Capitals superstar controlled what he could control on Thursday night, leading his club to a 6-0 dismantling of the Jake Guentzel-less Pittsburgh Penguins.

Ovechkin scored a goal and added an assist in the victory, in the process continuing his climb up the National Hockey League's all-time points list.

“Ovechkin's two points pushed him past Hall of Fame defenseman Paul Coffey and into 15th on the NHL's career scoring list. The Russian superstar has 1,532 career points, one shy of Hall of Fame forward Mark Recchi in 14th,” wrote ESPN early Friday morning.

The 38-year-old is on a bit of a heater in the nation's capital, scoring 10 goals in his past 15 games to get within 54 goals of Wayne Gretzky's all-time record of 894.

The Great Eight continues to chase The Great One, and the former scored his 840th career tally on the road against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.

Ovechkin, Capitals destroy Crosby, Penguins' playoff hopes?

Heading into Thursday night's tilt, it was all-but-confirmed that Jake Guentzel, who won a Stanley Cup in his rookie season in 2017, would be getting traded.

The deal broke shortly after the game, with Guentzel and Ty Smith heading to Carolina and the Penguins getting a haul in return. But it basically signalled the waving of the white flag for Kyle Dubas' group this season, who are now eight points back of a playoff spot.

Ovechkin and the Capitals, on the other hand, are still very much alive. After the victory, Washington is just five points back of the final wildcard berth in the Eastern Conference, with three games in hand on the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Make that six wins in nine games for a team that isn't going away quietly in 2023-24.

“Just another example of these guys pulling together in a difficult situation, losing some players,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said afterwards, per ESPN. “Goaltender steps up. Incredible performance from our entire group.”

With Kuznetsov and Mantha both out of the picture, things will be difficult. But there is certainly a path for the Capitals to get back into the postseason, and Alex Ovechkin is going to be a crucial piece of that effort down the stretch.