Alex Ovechkin sidelined for six weeks with a fibula fracture, delaying his historic goal chase and impacting the Capitals’ offensive lineup.
The Washington Capitals stated on Thursday that Alex Ovechkin will be sidelined for 4-6 weeks due to a fractured left fibula.
Ovechkin got hurt in a leg-on-leg crash with Utah Hockey Club’s Jack McBain 5:30 into the third period of Washington’s 6-2 win on Monday. The Capitals (13-5-1) originally stated on Tuesday that the 39-year-old left wing would be absent on a week-to-week basis pending additional evaluation by the team’s physicians on Wednesday.
Ovechkin’s career will see its longest absence yet. The most games he missed in a row before was six due to an upper-body injury from Nov. 4-14, 2009.
“It’s an unfortunate injury any time you lose your captain, any time you lose a player that is having the year he’s having and playing as well as he’s playing, He’s such a big part of our team, but, OK, he’ll back at some point for us. Now, we just need other guys to do more, and we’re going to need everybody, the coaches included, to do a little bit more. : Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said after a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday.
Throughout 20 NHL seasons, Ovechkin has only sat out 59 games, with 35 due to injuries. In 16 out of his last 19 seasons, he missed five games or less. The 11 games he missed in the 2020-21 season, which was shortened due to COVID, were the most he has missed in any season, with seven missed due to a lower-body injury and four while in COVID protocol.
Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 goals is on hold due to his injury. Ovechkin scored 15 goals in his first 18 games this season, leading the NHL. He now has a career total of 868 goals and is only 27 goals away from surpassing Gretzky.
Ovechkin made NHL history as the oldest player to score the first 15 goals in a season.
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