Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin suffered an apparent knee injury on Monday night during his team’s 3-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C.
Ovechkin was hurt during a knee-on-knee collision with Carolina defenseman Tim Gleason at 7 minutes, 55 seconds of the first period. The injury appeared to be serious. Ovechkin stayed on the ice for several minutes before being helped to the dressing room. He did not put any weight on his right leg, but couldn’t have returned to the game anyway after drawing a 5-minute major penalty for kneeing and an automatic game misconduct.
Recommended Stories
It was Ovechkin’s second ejection in three games. He committed a boarding penalty against Buffalo last Wednesday that also earned a major and an ejection. Ovechkin was not fined or suspended for that hit on the Sabres’ Patrick Kaleta.
It was the first meeting between the Southeast Division rivals this season. Washington is on a three-game winning streak and sits atop the Eastern Conference standings, while Carolina has lost five straight and has the worst record in the league. — AP
Capitals general manager George McPhee told reporters Ovechkin would not have an MRI on Monday night in Raleigh and would instead return with the team to Washington. Team physician Dr. Ben Shaffer will examine Ovechkin further on Tuesday. The Caps are scheduled to have an 11 a.m. practice at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington.
“Any time Alex is hurt I’m concerned,” Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said on Comcast SportsNet after Monday’s win. “He’s stiff right now. But I don’t know how long he’s going to be out — or whether he’s going to be out at all. [With] these things the next morning you find out a lot more than you do now.”
