Another tough test for the Wild

Six days after holding Pittsburgh Penguins superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to one shot each, the Wild faces another gargantuan challenge tonight when the king of all superstars, Alex Ovechkin, rolls into the Twin Cities for the second time in his career.

After a slow start that, not surprisingly, proved to be an aberration, the NHL's most feared, dangerous and electrifying player is again finding opposing goalies barely to be a nuisance.

"We have to play the same way we played in Pittsburgh and the same way we've done to win 11 games this year," center Eric Belanger said. "We have to take his time and space away. [Stars] don't like to dump the puck in, so we have to play tight in the neutral zone, create turnovers and then go.

"They have a lot of stars over there, so this is a good game to turn our little slump around."

The Wild may catch two breaks. Washington Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said Alexander Semin, the NHL's second-leading scorer, is doubtful because of a back injury, while Mike Green, fourth among defensemen in scoring, is out because of a shoulder injury.

But Ovechkin, who hasn't scored against the Wild in two games, is healthy and riding a seven-game point streak, while Nicklas Backstrom is on an eight-game point streak.

Bad time for a distraction

Since beating Pittsburgh, the Wild -- which has scored the fewest goals in the NHL (42) -- has opened a five-game homestand with consecutive losses. A fiery Jacques Lemaire ran an intense practice Sunday aimed at getting players to shoot the puck and drive the net.

"I see certain things coming," Lemaire said, tired of his players' excuses. "You know when you get a flurry of snow, you might get a storm! ... The thing is the goals are not coming easy.

"We're getting chances that we should score and we don't score. Now there's one thing to do -- work harder.

"It's not my grandma, it's not my girlfriend, it's me working harder -- period! It's nothing else."

However, the fine line tonight for a team in such an offensive slump is to not press so hard for goals that it leaves Ovechkin, tied for eighth in the league with 24 points, freedom to strike.

'He can pound you'

Ovechkin is a dynamic package of burning acceleration, astounding puck skills, a blistering shot and bone-crunching hits. After leading the league in shots in each of his first three seasons, he again leads with 92 shots, and leads all NHL forwards in ice time (23 minutes, 8 seconds a game).

"He's unbelievable, just an incredible one-on-one player," Belanger said.

"He's dangerous. If he has time and room to get going, he can hurt you in a lot of ways, and not just scoring. He can pound you."

Ovechkin, 23, is coming off an amazing season in which he achieved so much, he probably needed to charter a plane to transport all his hardware.

He became the first Russian-born player and only the sixth player in history to lead the league in goals (65, an NHL record by a left winger) and points (112) in the same season (Phil Esposito, Wayne Gretzky, Jarome Iginla, Guy Lafleur and Mario Lemieux).

Winning the Art Ross (scoring) and Rocket Richard (goals) trophies allowed Ovechkin to win his first Hart Trophy as MVP, especially after he lifted the Capitals to a Southeast Division title and into the playoffs for the first time since 2003.

The Capitals lost in Game 7 of the first round to Philadelphia. Ovechkin said his goal this season is to carry the Capitals further.

"We want to win everything," Ovechkin said on a recent conference call. "And our goal is not just to be playing, but we want to be the top team in the league."

It was a tough start for Ovechkin, scoring two goals and six assists in 11 games. But he returned home to Russia for a week to visit his ailing grandfather, Nikolay, and he has looked clear-minded since.

He's back to dominating on the ice and showing that unparalleled enthusiasm, highlighted by his leaps into the glass after scoring goals.

"It was a hard time for me, always thinking what's going on over there [in Russia]," Ovechkin said. "But right now it's done and I know it's fine. I know he's probably better. But it's life. And I tell myself you can do nothing, just pray for him."