Ryan S. Clark
Kristen Shilton
Kristen Shilton
ESPN NHL reporter
Kristen Shilton is a nationwide NHL reporter for ESPN.
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is anticipated to overlook the subsequent 4 to 6 weeks after sustaining a fractured left fibula, the crew introduced Thursday.
And thus, the Nice 8’s pursuit of the all-time NHL document for targets, presently held by Wayne Gretzky, is now paused. Ovechkin presently has 868 targets and is chasing down Gretzky’s 894.
In the meantime, the Capitals are in second place within the Metropolitan Division, only a level off the tempo of the Carolina Hurricanes, with the season almost on the quarter mark.
What precisely is the harm? How will the Capitals be impacted on the ice and within the dressing room? Here is what we all know now, and what comes subsequent.
What can we learn about his harm?
Ovechkin has missed solely 35 video games as a consequence of harm in his complete 20-season profession. That’s an astounding mark by itself and highlights the veteran’s general sturdiness. Even his teammates have been shocked that Ovechkin may very well be sidelined for such a stretch.
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“Everybody’s bummed out,” stated winger Tom Wilson, an Ovechkin teammate since 2013. “We have been sitting there saying, ‘That is bizarre. Like, it is unbelievable that he is truly damage.’ It is a kind of issues the place like, he’ll miss video games? I have been round a very long time, and it is new to me.”
That is what made Ovechkin’s shin-on-shin collision in opposition to Utah so powerful to see — instantly it seemed dangerous. Ovechkin sported a strolling boot out of the world that evening, and now the Capitals have confirmed it is a fibula fracture. These might be tough to come back again from. Jake DeBrusk, for instance, fractured his fibula within the 2023 Winter Traditional, and it was greater than six weeks earlier than the Boston Bruins even started cautiously working him again into the lineup.
There will likely be a bodily and psychological part to Ovechkin’s restoration; the fibula itself has to heal, after which he must be assured in going again on the ice, taking contact, reducing on his edges and trusting the work he has put into strengthening his muscle tissues once more. At 39 years previous, that will not be straightforward. — Shilton
What does this imply for his chase of Wayne Gretzky’s document?
Earlier than the harm, Ovechkin was on tempo to attain what would have been a career-high 68 targets this season. He’s 26 targets shy of tying the document, and he would have surpassed Gretzky in both late December or early January if he stored scoring at that tempo.
However now? The earliest he might return to the Capitals’ lineup can be Dec. 20 in opposition to the Carolina Hurricanes, whereas the six-week finish of the window means he would return Jan. 2 versus the Minnesota Wild, with the NHL’s Christmas break splitting the distinction. If he returns by Dec. 20, he may have missed 13 video games, whereas the Jan. 2 return date pushes that determine to 18 video games — a distinction of 5 video games. It could go away him with 51 video games remaining if he returns by Dec. 20 or 43 video games ought to he come again after the New Yr.
In both occasion, he has greater than half of the common season left to interrupt the document. But it surely additionally comes with the belief that to interrupt the document, he must rating 0.49 targets per sport if he comes again Dec. 20, with that quantity rising to 0.58 targets per sport if he returns Jan. 2. If he does not hit these charges, we’re wanting at first of the 2025-26 season to interrupt Gretzky’s document. — Clark
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How will the Capitals be impacted on the ice?
In a phrase? Immensely. Shedding its high aim scorer for greater than 4 weeks is a problem for any crew. However when it is somebody who was on tempo to attain almost 70 targets, on a crew that leads the NHL with 4.33 targets per sport? That simply additional amplifies what Ovechkin’s absence will imply to the Caps.
It is attainable that Capitals coach Spencer Carbery might flip to a high line that options Connor McMichael at left wing, centered by Pierre-Luc Dubois with Wilson at proper wing. That would go away the Caps with Dylan Strome anchoring a second line with Andrew Mangiapane and Aliaksei Protas, which gave the impression to be their setup earlier than Thursday’s sport in opposition to the Colorado Avalanche.
Despite the fact that Ovechkin leads them in targets, the Caps have acquired vital contributions from a pair of homegrown skills in McMichael and Protas. McMichael entered Thursday second on the crew with 12 targets, whereas Protas was third with seven.
That stated, a participant the Capitals would like to see step up is Dubois. He has been productive — he has 12 factors in 18 video games. It is simply that he has scored just one aim this season — a jarring quantity contemplating he has been a four-time 20-goal scorer in his profession. — Clark
What concerning the emotional ingredient?
Each single participant within the dressing room has been invested in Ovechkin’s quest to interrupt Gretzky’s document, they usually’ve thrived off serving to him inch nearer to historical past. Will Ovechkin’s absence go away an intangible void? Particularly if seeing him have such an incredible begin to the season — and be on the tempo he was to hit Gretzky’s mark — was a lift for this overachieving Washington crew? It is actually one thing to think about, and maybe a number of the Capitals already are.
“You already know when aim scorers begin scoring, it is harmful,” stated John Carlson, who has been teammates with Ovechkin since 2009. “We see him coming to the rink daily, we all know what’s at stake. You by no means need anybody to get injured, however there’s rather a lot to it, and definitely he was taking part in his finest hockey in years.”
It is going to fall on Washington’s management group now to make sure there isn’t any hangover associated to Ovechkin’s harm, and to instill perception that not solely can the Capitals proceed to be a contender with out him, however that their general sense of goal on the season does not take any kind of hit, both. — Shilton
