Alex Ovechkin has a broken left fibula and is expected to miss four to six weeks, an injury that will prevent the Washington Capitals' superstar captain from matching Wayne Gretzky's NHL career scoring record.
The Capitals updated Ovechkin's status after he was examined by team doctors upon his return from a three-game trip. The 39-year-old broke his leg in a shin-on-shin collision with Utah's Jack McBain, and some of his closest teammates knew that wasn't good news even before Ovechkin was placed on the week-to-week injured list became.
“Everyone is exhausted,” said winger Tom Wilson, who has played with Ovechkin since 2013. “We sat there and said, 'This is weird.' “It's unbelievable that he's actually injured.” Is it one of those things where he'll miss games? I’ve been here for a long time and it’s new to me.”
Ovechkin missed 59 games in his first 19 seasons – and only 35 because of injury. Endurance, even as he tosses his body around with his physical style, is a big reason he is on track to surpass Gretzky's 894-goal mark, which once seemed unapproachable.
“He doesn’t go out and just walk around,” Wilson said. “He ran over guys and skated every shift for 20 years. He’s a power forward, maybe the leading scorer of all time, and he’s a power forward that plays the game really hard.”
With 15 goals in his first 18 games this season, Ovechkin moved to the top of the league. He was on track to break the record sometime in February, reaching No. 895.
“You know, when scorers start scoring, it's dangerous,” said defenseman John Carlson, who has been Ovechkin's teammate since 2009-10. “Of course there was a bit of that in the depths that everyone felt. We see him coming to the rink every day, we know what's at stake. You never want to see anyone get hurt, but there’s a lot behind it and he certainly played his best hockey in years.”
