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Ryan S. Clark
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Ryan S. Clark
NHL reporterRyan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.
Kristen Shilton
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Kristen Shilton
ESPN NHL reporterKristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.Nov 21, 2024, 07:20 PM ET
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is expected to miss the next four to six weeks after sustaining a fractured left fibula, the team announced Thursday.
And thus, the Great 8’s pursuit of the all-time NHL record for goals, currently held by Wayne Gretzky, is now paused. Ovechkin currently has 868 goals and is chasing down Gretzky’s 894.
Meanwhile, the Capitals are in second place in the Metropolitan Division, just a point off the pace of the Carolina Hurricanes, with the season nearly at the quarter mark.
What exactly is the injury? How will the Capitals be impacted on the ice and in the dressing room? Here’s what we know now, and what comes next.
What do we know about his injury?
Ovechkin has missed only 35 games due to injury in his entire 20-season career. That is an astounding mark on its own and highlights the veteran’s overall durability. Even his teammates were shocked that Ovechkin could be sidelined for such a stretch.
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“Everyone’s bummed out,” said winger Tom Wilson, an Ovechkin teammate since 2013. “We were sitting there saying, ‘This is weird. Like, it’s unbelievable that he’s actually hurt.’ It’s one of those things where like, he’s going to miss games? I’ve been around a long time, and it’s new to me.”
That’s what made Ovechkin’s shin-on-shin collision against Utah so tough to see — immediately it looked bad. Ovechkin sported a walking boot out of the arena that night, and now the Capitals have confirmed it’s a fibula fracture. Those can be difficult to come back from. Jake DeBrusk, for example, fractured his fibula in the 2023 Winter Classic, and it was more than six weeks before the Boston Bruins even began cautiously working him back into the lineup.
There will be a physical and mental component to Ovechkin’s…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/42531693/nhl-alex-ovechkin-injury-goal-scoring-record-wayne-gretzky-capitals-playoffs
Author : Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shilton
Publish date : 2024-11-22 01:35:00
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