Alexander Ovechkin is considered week-to-week with a lower leg injury following his team’s 6-2 win over Utah on Monday night.
Ovechkin, who had 5 goals over his last two contests, collided with Utah forward jack McBain and was in visible discomfort as he made his way back to the bench. The 39 year old had already scored twice in the game, after having potted a hat-trick the game before.
It’s believed that Ovechkin suffered a lower left leg injury at the 5:30 mark of the 3rd period, after going knee-to-knee with McBain. The Russian superstar attempted to return to the ice a few moments later before ultimately heading to the locker room early.
“Yeah, that sucks. You hate to see it,” Capitals forward Nic Dowd told reporters after the game. “He’s been absolutely on fire and huge for our team. He’s been playing incredible hockey.”
With his recent goal scoring explosion, Ovechkin now sits just 27 goals shy of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal scoring record of 894. Even at his advanced age, Ovi is scoring at a career best pace, netting 15 goals through the first 18 games of the season. That mark puts him 2 goals clear of Sam Reinhart (Florida) and Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton) for tops in the league.
Extrapolated over the course of a full season, that would have the Caps forward on pace for a 68 goal campaign, besting his previous career high of 65 set back in 2007-08.
Washington hasn’t provided a clear timetable for Ovechkin to return to the ice, but it’s believed that he will miss at least the next 5 contests. Capitals officials said they would provide a more definitive return to play timeline when it’s available.
Washington is next in action on Thursday against the Colorado Avalanche in a 7pm ET showdown.
Photo: Dan4th Nicholas. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.