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Ilya Bryzgalov says we should leave Alex Ovechkin alone

Philadelphia Flyers v Washington Capitals

WASHINGTON, DC - DECEMBER 13: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals skates off the ice as the Philadelphia Flyers celebrate a goal in the second period at Verizon Center on December 13, 2011 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

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Alex Ovechkin is having his struggles scoring goals of late and while the pressure mounts, he’s got at least one guy hoping people will take it easy on him.

Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov tells CSNWashington.com’s Chuck Gormley that everyone should lay off Ovechkin because he’s a good player.

“He’s a great player and may be hitting a hard time in his career. Let him be, let him relax. Maybe he is carrying too much pressure and blaming himself. But he’s a great player.”

That’s a supremely zen approach from Bryzgalov. All that new age mysticism won’t take away from the fact that the once dominating goal scorer has scored just two goals in the Caps’ last 16 games.

The Caps and Hunter might be happy grinding out wins, but doing it at the expense of your biggest offensive weapon seems like a bad idea. Maybe Ovechkin can take Bryzgalov’s zen approach to getting back to doing what he does best.