Ovechkin will be out of action for 4-6 weeks
Washington fans and Alexander Ovechkin fans finally learned what kind of injury the forward suffered in the NHL regular season game against Utah. The truth turned out to be darker than expected: Ovechkin left fibula fracture.
On the night of November 19, Moscow time, Washington faced Utah and won 6:2. Ovechkin made a double in this match, scoring his 15th goal of the season and narrowing the gap to 26 goals, with Wayne Gretzky’s sniper record.
However, in the third period, Utah forward Jack McBain hit his leg. Ovechkin was only able to get off the ice with the help of teammate Jacob Chickran. Later, during one of the stops, the Russian went out to check if he could skate. He then entered the room under the stands.
Ovechkin then underwent a medical examination, and Caps head coach Spencer Carbery left with general statements that the details “will be known soon.”
Now press service The NHL has officially announced: Ovechkin has a fracture. The hockey player’s recovery time will be between four and six weeks.
“He will come back stronger than ever”
It is noteworthy that Ovechkin had previously missed no more than seven consecutive NHL games due to injury. He will now break this record, which he himself will not be very happy with. It looks like the Russian will not be on the ice for at least 12 games. In his absence, the Caps have already lost: last night they lost 1:2 at home to Colorado.
“We sat down and discussed it: ‘It’s so weird it’s impossible to imagine he’s actually injured,'” Capitals forward Tom Wilson said. – In moments like this, you don’t know: Is he really going to miss a few games? This is new to me. Alex has been playing every shift for 20 years “He’s a big forward who’s about to become the top scorer in history, and he plays really hard, which is fantastic, and I have no doubt he’ll come back at his best.”
Spencer Carbery emphasized that in Ovechkin’s absence, a much greater burden and responsibility falls on his teammates.
“Ovechkin is a very important part of our team, but I know he will come back at some point. Now we need other guys to do more. We all have to do more, including the coaches,” the Capitals coach concluded.
“Gretzky’s record will be broken next year”
Of course, the captain’s injury was a blow for Washington. Ovechkin, 39, started this season with the best performance of his NHL career: 15 goals in 18 games. According to overseas experts, he did this to break Gretzky’s record by Christmas. This is unlikely to happen now. Commenting on socialbites.ca, former Continental Hockey League (KHL) referee Andrei Korovkin explained why the “eternal” sniper record should not be expected to fall this season.
“It is very difficult to be at the same high level all season long. This applies even to an elite athlete like Alexander Ovechkin. It is not easy to keep the bar so high all the time, especially considering that Alexander is no longer as young as he was at the beginning of his career,” he said. remarked Korovkin.
The expert stated that the injury would take time to heal and Ovechkin would not have time to score 27 more goals before the end of the regular season.
“It is clear that it will be extremely difficult to achieve the record this season. In this regard, I wholeheartedly believe that the record will be broken next season. Thanks to Alexander’s talent and efforts, this event will be a triumph. Finally, I wish Alexander a speedy recovery and a return to the ice at full strength,” concluded Korovkin.
“Sasha is eager to fight”
Ovechkin himself is full of excitement and expects to return to the ice as soon as possible. about this “Championship” stated Gleb Chistyakov, the hockey player’s manager in Russia.
“Sasha is eager to fight and wants to get out as early as possible. But the final say will still belong to doctors,” Chistyakov said.
Words of support for Ovechkin expressed football Dynamo. The striker is a graduate of the Dynamo hockey team, but he also supports the football team: he even played and scored for them in a friendly match in 2022.
“The legendary hockey player and pupil of the Dynamo hockey team will miss the rest of 2024. Sasha started the NHL season with a bang and became the leader in the scoring race. You’ll come back stronger, Ovi! We believe in you,” the message says.
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Source: Gazeta
Gregory Robert is a sports aficionado and a writer for “Social Bites”. He provides in-depth coverage of the latest sporting events and trends, offering a unique and knowledgeable perspective on the world of sports.