Alex Ovechkin was in the midst of a storybook season as the superstar left wing pursued what many thought might be an unattainable goal-scoring record held by Wayne Gretzky. But the story is on hold after an injury felled the veteran forward on Monday night.
Ovechkin was pulled in the third period from the Washington Capitals’ game against the Utah Hockey Club after he and Utah defenseman Jack McBain collided knee-on-knee in the middle of the ice. The Capitals forward had to be helped off the ice after the hit. Ovechkin had scored two goals in Monday’s game, bringing the Capitals’ star within 27 goals of tying Gretzky’s record.
On Tuesday, the team announced that Ovechkin had experienced a lower leg injury that will keep the Russia native out of the lineup with a week-to-week status. Ovechkin will be reevaluated on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. The injury derails Ovechkin’s pursuit of Gretzky for the time being and takes the winger out of the lineup during a hot stretch where he has scored five goals in the last two games.
Ovechkin scored his 14th and 15th goals of the season on Monday, and he leads the NHL in goals for the first time since January 2022. That is the most goals he has scored in the first 18 games of a season in his career. Ovechkin now has 100 multi-goal road games overall. The Capitals are 13-4-1 and in first place in the Metropolitan Division.
