Staple: Ovechkin shoots some advice to Tavares

Alex Ovechkin, who recently became the official leader of the Capitals when they named him captain, dispensed some advice to the future leader of the Islanders the other day.

"This Olympic break, if I was him, I would just go on some vacation, forget about everything," Ovechkin said of John Tavares. "It's pretty hard when you get lots of attention. If he listens to it, he goes to the ice and thinks, 'Oh, God, what are they going to say about me now?' "

Ovechkin was referring to Tavares' midseason rookie slump, from which the 19-year-old is slowly emerging. Tavares had two goals, four assists and a minus-9 rating in his previous 22 games going into Saturday, but he had five points (goal, four assists) in his previous nine.

It's natural that a rookie, and one as young as Tavares, would experience the kind of fatigue in his game that he has during the last two months. So the two-week Olympic break should be a big help, as Ovechkin advised.

Of course, Ovechkin has never had a slump like Tavares' - he had 52 goals in his rookie season (2005-06) after becoming the No. 1 overall pick in 2004 - and that's just one reason he was named captain after the Caps traded Chris Clark to the Blue Jackets a month ago.

The Capitals are 12-1 since Ovechkin was named captain. They won their ninth straight Friday night, the second-longest streak in franchise history.

Washington has rolled to the top of the East without goaltender Semyon Varlamov and now is without Jose Theodore, its other regular goaltender.

Ovechkin is not doing anything terribly new or different. His coach, the very laid-back Bruce Boudreau, made sure to tell his new captain not to change a thing when the "C" was stitched on his sweater.

"It can sometimes be a tough situation when your best player becomes your captain," former Ranger and Islander Tom Poti said. "But Ovie's our hardest worker every night. He never takes a night off. He's from a different mold."

Ovechkin was generous toward the Islanders on Tuesday before his team handed a 7-1 thrashing to the home side at the Coliseum.

"For them right now, every point is like gold. They believe they can be in the playoffs," Ovechkin said. "We were in the same position two years ago. It's a pretty hard position, but it's fun. Every game you fight for, and it's special when you get in."