Alex Ovechkin leaves game injured against Utah HC after leg-on-leg ...
Alex Ovechkin was forced out of Monday’s game against Utah HC with what appeared to be a lower-body injury.
The Capitals lost their captain with 14:30 remaining in the third period after Jack McBain cut across Washington’s zone and had leg-on-leg contact with Ovechkin. Ovechkin, who had already scored twice in the game, immediately fell to the ice in apparent pain.
No penalty was called on the play as the contact was deemed incidental.
Defenseman Jakob Chychrun and head athletic trainer Jason Serbus accompanied Ovechkin off the ice.
The 39-year-old winger initially stayed on the Capitals’ bench but departed to the team’s locker room after taking a short spin on the ice during a break in the game’s action. The Monumental Sports Network broadcast caught Ovechkin hobbling down the tunnel.
Tom Wilson, one of the club’s alternate captains, made McBain answer for the play later in the period with a fight.
Ovechkin, the NHL’s leading goal scorer with 15, is also coming off a hat trick against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday night. He is just 26 goals away from tying Wayne Gretzky for a share of the league’s all-time goals record.
The ever-durable Russian forward has missed just 59 total games in his career, 35 due to injury.
Head coach Spencer Carbery had little news on Ovechkin postgame. “He’s being evaluated as we speak, and we’ll know more tomorrow,” Carbery said.
Washington is scheduled for a day off tomorrow as they travel home after their back-to-back games out west. They are scheduled to practice on Wednesday morning and host the Colorado Avalanche at Capital One Arena on Thursday night.
