\Washington's Alexander Ovechkin celebrates after scoring on Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller Wednesday during the third period of the Capitals' 3-1 win.

Alexander Ovechkin is shooting the Washington Capitals right into the middle of the playoff hunt.

Ovechkin scored twice, giving him an NHL-leading 54 goals, and played a big role in setting up Nicklas Backstrom's goal in a 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres Wednesday night in a key Eastern Conference playoff-race matchup.

"It's a good night for the team. Big win," said Ovechkin, shrugging off his second-consecutive multigoal game after he scored three times in a 10-2 win over Boston on Monday.

The Capitals jumped into 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings, a point behind Buffalo and two back of Philadelphia, which holds the final playoff berth.

"The last two years, we didn't play for something. ... We started thinking about vacation," Ovechkin said. "It's more interesting when you play for something."

Backstrom, who entered as the NHL's rookie scoring leader, had a goal and assist, while Olie Kolzig made 25 saves for his 299th career victory.

"(Ovechkin's) a fantastic player," Kolzig said. "I don't know what else you guys can write about him, but he's the best I've ever played with."

At Buffalo, Ales Kotalik scored the lone goal for the suddenly slumping Sabres, who dropped to 2-4-1 in their past seven and have two wins in their past eight home games (2-5-1).

"Mental mistakes have cost us goals," Sabres forward Derek Roy said. "We gave up four or five breakaways. ... We preached before the game to look over our shoulder and see where Ovechkin is. And we didn't do so."

Hurricanes 6, Thrashers 3

At Atlanta, Eric Staal scored two goals and added an assist for the Hurricanes, who have won eight of 11 since losing at New Jersey on Feb. 9.

Ilya Kovalchuk scored his 43rd goal, second-most in the NHL, for Atlanta, winless in eight straight.

Sharks 3, Senators 2

Patrick Marleau scored his second goal of the game 3:05 into overtime to lead San Jose to its seventh straight win.

Jason Spezza scored both goals for the visiting Senators, who have lost five of six.

Red Wings 4, Blues 1

Pavel Datsyuk scored twice to lift NHL-leading Detroit to its second straight win after a 1-8-2 stretch.

Blackhawks 3, Ducks 0

Rookie Corey Crawford stopped 19 shots to earn his first NHL win and shutout in his first start this season for Chicago.

Coyotes 2, Stars 1

At Dallas, Ilya Bryzgalov made 20 saves, and Peter Mueller and Shane Doan each scored for Phoenix.