WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin was everywhere. He scored a goal. He had an assist. He played on two lines and was on the ice for nearly half the game. And, when the Minnesota Wild had a short-handed break, he hustled back and slid to break up Mikko Koivu’s shot on the 2-on-1 break.

“It was a great slide. Like he was playing ‘D’ all his life,” Washington Capitals coach Dale Hunter said.

Ovechkin is Alexander the Great once again, and his resurgence couldn’t be more timely for the Capitals, who beat the Wild 3-0 on Sunday to pull back into the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.

“I think today, I think (it was) probably like two years ago,” Ovechkin said. “I have kind of trust in how I play. … I feel pretty good. I feel sharp when I wasn’t in the game. I was fresh and, you know, it’s good for me.”

Matt Hackett, another goaltender not long promoted from the minors, made 20 saves for the Wild. He was playing because Niklas Backstrom didn’t make the trip due to a lower-body injury, and because Josh Harding played Saturday in a 3-1 loss at Buffalo.

The Wild were shut out for the eighth time this season and were without their latest injury casualty, center Matt Cullen, sidelined after breaking his right index finger Saturday night in a loss at Buffalo.

Minnesota coach Mike Yeo said it’s not time yet to start focusing on next year.

“There’s no doubt that we’re not quite there,” Yeo said. “I think we all know that. But I like a lot of the things that we have. If you want to look at guys we have in the lineup right now, we have a lot of guys that can win, not only to get to the playoffs, but the type of guys you want in your lineup when you do play in the playoffs.”