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Alex Ovechkin turns Devils around in beautiful backhand goal

Alex Ovechkin turns Devils around in beautiful backhand goal

When Alex Ovechkin is on his game, there are few players who can combine speed, hands shot and flair like the Caps forward.

And all were viewable Saturday night in this dazzling offensive display below in Ovechkin’s bid for the mythical ‘Goal of the Year.’

The video please:

That didn’t look so good for Devils defenseman Jon Merrill, but whatever. He joins a long list of blueliners Ovi has undressed at some point in his career. Also, that backhand roof-shot while falling down was quite solid. 

This snapped Ovechkin’s second four-game streak without a goal since Nov. 28. But in the Capitals’ 4-0 win over the Devils he was a plus-3, which puts him at plus-7 on the year.

So the people who hated on Ovi for having a lot of goals a year ago with a horrible plus/minus can hate on the fact that he’s not scoring as much this year with a decent plus/minus.

Said Caps coach Barry Trotz to the Washington Post before the game:

"What I’m trying to teach him is, if you’re not scoring, there’s another 100 ways you can help and contribute to the hockey team and still be effective, and we can still win. I think he’s seeing some of that. I think he’s growing. I think you’re seeing a wiser, more detailed Alex Ovechkin as he matures as a player.”

Eh, who cares about the details. That goal was awesome. 

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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