Alex Ovechkin’s chase of Wayne Gretzky’s goal record is temporarily on hold after the Washington Capitals star left Monday night’s game with an injury.
The team announced Tuesday that Ovechkin is week-to-week with an injury to his lower leg after he absorbed a leg-on-leg hit from Utah Hockey Club forward Jack McBain during the third period.
Ovechkin had been on a torrid scoring pace this season. Before Monday’s injury, he had scored twice in the 6-2 win over Utah, giving him five goals in the last two games and a league-leading 15 goals in 18 games.
Here’s what we know about Ovechkin’s injury:
Alex Ovechkin injury update
The Capitals announced that team doctors would examine Ovechkin further on Wednesday in Washington. For now, he is listed as week-to-back with a lower-leg injury.
The Capitals play seven games over the next two weeks.
‘You hate to see it,’ teammate Nick Dowd told reporters after Monday’s game. ‘He’s been absolutely on fire and he’s huge for our team.’
How was Alex Ovechkin hurt?
McBain inadvertently hit Ovechkin in the leg, and the Capitals star fell to the ice at 5:30 of the third period.
Ovechkin struggled to get to the bench, tested the leg with a short twirl on the ice during a TV timeout then went to the dressing room. He didn’t return.
Washington’s Tom Wilson fought with McBain late in the third period.
Alex Ovechkin injury history
According to Capitals Outsider, Ovechkin has missed only 59 games in his 20-season career. Of those, 35 were because of injury. The others were for suspensions and personal or other reasons. He missed three games last season because of injury.
Where does Alex Ovechkin stand in the Wayne Gretzky record chase?
Ovechkin has 868 goals and needs 27 more to break Gretzky’s record of 894 career goals. That record has stood since Gretzky retired in 1999. Ovechkin has another year on his contract beyond this season.