Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin will be out four to weeks with a fractured left fibula after being injured in Monday’s game, the team announced Thursday.
That’s a blow to the red-hot Capitals and will delay Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 career goals.
Ovechkin, 39, had scored twice on Monday against the Utah Hockey Club to take the NHL lead in goals with 15. But he was injured on a leg-on-leg collision with Jack McBain in the third period and wasn’t able to return to the game. The original diagnosis was week-to-week and the new one was announced after he was examined by team doctors upon returning to Washington.
What Ovechkin’s latest prognosis means to the Capitals and his pursuit of Gretzky’s record:
What Alex Ovechkin’s injury means to the Capitals?
It is a big loss, considering he’s the Capitals’ captain, their leading goal scorer and is No. 2 in points. He’s also first in shots and second in hits. Though he has only four power play goals this season, the threat of his one-timer from the left faceoff circle opens up other opportunities on the man advantage.
But this could be the best year for the Capitals to miss Ovechkin for a while. They were busy in the offseason, adding offensive depth with Andrew Mangiapane and Pierre-Luc Dubois and defensive depth with Jakob Chychrun and Matt Roy. New goaltender Logan Thompson is 8-0-1.
Returning players Dylan Strome, Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas have had strong starts this season. Tom Wilson, a future captain, provides leadership and offense. Managiapane will take Ovechkin’s place on the top line with Strome and Protas in Thursday’s game.
The Capitals called up left wing Ivan Miroshnichenko after the Ovechkin injury. He’s raw but plays a physical game and has a good shot.
Where does Alex Ovechkin stand in the Wayne Gretzky chase?
He has 868 career goals and needs 27 to pass Gretzky’s mark. Under the Capitals’ announced timeline, Ovechkin would miss between 13 and 19 games and would have 45 to 51 games left in the regular season.
He was at a 68-goal pace before the injury, averaging 0.83 goals a game. That pace probably wasn’t sustainable even if he were healthy. But if he can average a little more than a goal every other game after he returns, he has a shot to pass Gretzky by the end of the season.
If not, he’s under contract next season.