NHL: Washington Capitals at Utah - Source: Imagn — Friedman shared that Jack McBain felt "mortified" after unintentionally injuring Alex Ovechkin (Source: Imagn)

Elliotte Friedman claims Jack McBain was 'mortified' after injuring Alex Ovechkin

Modified Nov 22, 2024 20:49 GMT

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman shared that Jack McBain felt "mortified" after unintentionally injuring Alex Ovechkin. The incident happened during the third period of the Washington Capitals' 6-2 win over the Utah Hockey Club on Monday.

Ovechkin suffered a fractured left fibula and will miss 4-6 weeks, the longest absence of his career.

Friedman claimed that McBain had no intent to hurt Ovechkin and was devastated after the collision.

"He (Jack McBain) wants to play hard hockey, but he doesn’t want to injure Ovechkin. I mean, I heard he was just, like, mortified and devastated," Friedman said.

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Capitals forward Tom Wilson defended Ovechkin during the game, chasing McBain on the ice.

"He’s (McBain) got Tom Wilson chasing him around the ice," Friedman added. "I understand Tom Wilson is standing up for the franchise player, but there’s no way — no way — that McBain meant to do that. It was just a terrible accident."

The injury is a major setback for Alex Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 15 goals this season. He has 868 career goals, putting him 27 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time record of 894.

This pause interrupts a dominant season for Ovechkin, who became the oldest player to reach the 15-goal mark fastest in a season.

Capitals coach Carbery on Alex Ovechkin's injury

Capitals coach Spencer Carbery talked to the media after a 2-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. He recognized the challenge but said the team would work harder in Ovechkin’s absence.

“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," Spencer Carbery said per NHL.com.

"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.”

Over his 20-year NHL career, Ovechkin has missed only 59 games, making this a rare occurrence. Teammate Tom Wilson expressed disbelief:

"It's one of those things where, like, 'He's going to miss games?' It's new to me ...," Wilson said, per NHL.com. "You know, he's a power forward, the best goal-scorer ever maybe, and he's a power forward that plays the game really hard ... I'm sure he's going to be back stronger than ever and flying around soon."

Alex Ovechkin is expected to return eventually and continue his chase of Gretzky's record.