Alex Ovechkin is still the only NHL player who plays regularly to not start a shift in the defensive zone this season. However, if it were up to him, that would change after the Capitals’ win over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night.

Ovechkin let his head coach, Spencer Carbery, know that he believes he’s due some defensive responsibility after he and Dylan Strome led the Capitals down the ice to score right after a late third-period icing call. The Caps captain brought the subject up during Carbery’s typical postgame victory speech in the visiting locker room at the Bell Centre.

“Couple massive f***ing plays and a f***ing hat trick from the big man himself,” Carbery shouted.

“D-zone starts!” Ovechkin immediately replied. “D-zone starts!”

Carbery, laughing, acknowledged Ovechkin’s request before announcing that Ovechkin, with a four-point game, had passed Joe Sakic for 10th on the NHL’s all-time points list.

The goal Ovechkin refers to, his second of three in the game, came with 3:57 remaining in regulation and put the Capitals up 6-4. After starting his shift on the fly with 4:40 remaining in the frame, the Capitals iced the puck 17 seconds later.

Off the ensuing defensive-zone faceoff, Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson made an errant pass that found the sideboards before landing on Strome’s stick. Strome immediately beelined up the ice and found Ovechkin on the right wing to finish the 2-on-1 chance.

While the play in which Ovechkin scored his goal began in the Capitals’ defensive zone, he doesn’t get credit for a defensive-zone shift start. His shift is considered to have started when he jumped over the bench 17 seconds before the icing whistle.

While Ovechkin longs for a bigger challenge, Carbery’s aggressive deployment strategy for his team captain remains very effective. With The Great 8 on the ice at five-on-five this season, the Capitals have seen 52.1 percent of shot attempts, 54.5 percent of expected goals, 54.3 percent of scoring chances, and 52.4 percent of high-danger chances. Most importantly, they have also outscored their opposition 19-8.

Ovechkin has been on fire in recent weeks, too, recording 13 points (8g, 5a) in his last nine games. He has goals in four straight games and is one of only 37 NHL players with 10 or more goals this season, which comes after he scored just two goals in all of October.