NHL insider believes Alex Ovechkin's injury is 'more severe' as Capitals captain listed week-to-week

By Ankit Kumar

Modified Nov 20, 2024 19:31 GMT

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is on injured reserve due to a lower leg injury. The injury happened during a 6-2 win over the Utah Hockey Club on Monday. Ovechkin collided with Utah forward Jack McBain and left the game with 14:30 left in the third period.

Washington coach Spencer Carbery talked about Ovechkin's injury on Tuesday:

“He’s being evaluated as we speak and we’ll know more tomorrow,” Carbery said, via NHL.com.

While the Capitals have labeled the injury as week-to-week, ESPN NHL analyst Kevin Weekes believes it could be more severe. During his appearance on TSN's "SportsCentre" he expressed his to host Jay Onrait, noting that Ovechkin is rarely injured.

"And this injury happened last night, tough injury to watch," Weekes said. "OV never gets hurt. And when you consider the fact that not only years, he led the league in goals, he led the league in hits for like, the first eight seasons of his career, so it was very unsightly to see him go down.

"It's a tough injury. And I have to tell you, they said it's week to week, I believe it could be more severe than that, unfortunately and ultimately, we root for the health and safety of all the players, but that was a tough one to see happen there."

Ovechkin has been playing well this season, with 15 goals in 18 games. He has 868 career goals and is 27 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's record.

In Ovechkin's absence, the Capitals called up forward Ivan Miroshnichenko from the AHL's Hershey Bears.

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Alex Ovechkin scored two goals in a 6-2 win over Utah

Alex Ovechkin played a key role in the Washington Capitals’ 6-2 win over Utah (formerly Arizona Coyotes). He scored twice before leaving the game.

Ovechkin’s first goal came at 11:05 in the first period, making it 3-1 with a wrist shot. His second goal was on a 5-on-3 power play, giving the Capitals a 4-1 lead.

“He's been phenomenal this year, leading the charge in our team, not only from a leadership standpoint and in the locker room but on the ice as well,” Carbery said, via NHL.com

Dylan Strome scored early to tie the game and Nic Dowd put Washington ahead shortly after. Brandon Duhaime added a goal in the third period to make it 5-2. Aliaksei Protas sealed the win with another goal at 9:56 in the third.

The Capitals extended their win streak to three games.