(Sports Network) - The Capitals are streaking at the right time. Led by Hart Trophy candidate Alex Ovechkin, Washington shoots for its fifth straight win tonight as it visits the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center.

Washington is just outside of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference, but is doing its best to crack the top eight. The Capitals enter tonight's test two points back of eighth-seeded Philadelphia with eight games to play. The Flyers are idle tonight.

Washington, which has won eight of its last 11, is also three points behind first-place Carolina in the Southeast Division, and the Hurricanes are in Atlanta tonight.

Of course, it could be argued that Washington would be further down in the standings without Ovechkin. The Russian sniper posted an empty-net goal and had two assists in Tuesday night's 4-2 victory over Nashville, helping him break the 100-point barrier for the second time in his three NHL seasons while also giving him 300 points in his NHL career.

Ovechkin has a league-high 102 points on the year, just four shy of the career-high 106 he posted as a rookie in 2005-06. His late goal last night was his league-leading 58th of the season, a career high for Ovechkin, who is bidding to become the league's first 60-goal scorer since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr of the Pittsburgh Penguins posted 69 and 62 goals, respectively, during the 1995-96 campaign.

Ovechkin, who became the first Capitals player in team history to post a pair of 100-point seasons, had a goal and an assist in his only career game against the Blackhawks.

Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom and Matt Bradley all scored first-period goals against Nashville, and Cristobal Huet posted 24 saves in the win.

The Capitals' victory last night opened a six-game road trip. Washington has won four of its last six on the road and is 16-15-5 as the visiting team this season.

The Blackhawks continue to fall further out of postseason contention in the Western Conference. Chicago dropped a 4-2 test to Calgary on Sunday, its fifth loss in its last six games.

Rookie Jonathan Toews and Robert Lang scored for Chicago. Patrick Lalime allowed all four goals on 22 shots, and was lifted for Nikolai Khabibulin in the third period. Khabibulin made five saves the rest of the way in his first game since February 20. He hadn't appeared in the last 12 games due to a sore back.

Defenseman Brent Sopel also returned to the lineup after a 12-game absence due to a broken finger.

Chicago now sits 13th in the West, nine points out of a playoff spot. The Blackhawks have lost four in a row on the road and are 18-16-2 as the home club this year.

The Blackhawks have won two straight over the Capitals, though Washington posted a 4-0 victory the last time the clubs met in Chicago on February 15, 2004.