A brutal fact has been pointed out in the wake of Alex Ovechkin’s significant injury, and fans of all Washington sports teams should be worried.
The Capitals winger is set to be out for 4-6 weeks with a fractured left fibula following a collision with Utah Hockey Club forward Jack McBain during the third period of Washington’s 6-2 win on Monday.
The team had announced that the Russian star would be out on a week-to-week basis pending further evaluation. But they have since revealed that the extent of the player’s injury will leave him sidelined for several weeks.
This will mark the lengthiest absence of Ovechkin’s career. He previously missed six games with an upper-body injury in 2009.
A tweet has since surfaced noting the fact that November 18 is an unlucky one for Washington, pointing to three leg break incidents all involving players from Washington teams: Joe Theisman, Alex Smith, and, of course, Alex Smith.
Alex Ovechkin Has Been Ever-Present Since Starting Out In The NHL
Alex Ovechkin has played in the NHL for 20 years and has only missed 59 games, 35 of which were due to injury.
The winger has missed five games or fewer in 16 of his last 19 campaigns, plus the 11 games he was out for during the COVID-shortened season, with seven due to injury and four due to COVID-19 protocols.
“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,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said after Thursday’s loss to the Colorado Avalanche. “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.”
“I’m sure he’s going to be back stronger than ever and flying around soon,” teammate Tom Wilson added.
Ovechkin, 39, was leading the NHL in goals before his injury with 15 and is just 27 away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record.
We wish him a speedy recovery.
