Broken leg sidelined Capitals star

On By Littum

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Washington capitals star Alex Ovechkin will be out four to weeks with a broken left fibula after being injured in Monday’s game, the team announced Thursday.

It is a blow against the red-hot ones Capital cities and will delay Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 career goals.

Ovechkin, 39, had scored twice on Monday against the Utah Hockey Club to take the NHL lead in goals with 15. But he was injured in a leg-on-leg collision with Jack McBain in the third period and was unable to to return to the game. The original diagnosis was week-to-week, and the new one was announced after he was examined by team doctors when he returned to Washington.

What Ovechkin’s latest forecast means for the Capitals and his pursuit of Gretzky’s record:

What does Alex Ovechkin’s injury mean for the Capitals?

That’s a big loss, considering he’s the Capitals’ captain, their leading scorer and is the No. 2 in points. He is also first in hits and second in hits. Although he has just four power play goals this season, the threat of his one-timer from the left faceoff circle opens up other options on the man advantage.

But this might be the best year for the Capitals to miss Ovechkin for a while. They were busy in the offseason, adding offensive depth with Andrew Mangiapane and Pierre-Luc Dubois and defensive depth with Jakob Chychrun and Matt Roy. New goalie Logan Thompson is 8-0-1.

Returning players Dylan Strome, Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas have had strong starts this season. Tom Wilson, a future captain, provides leadership and offense. Managiapane takes Ovechkin’s place on the top line with Strome and Protas in Thursday’s game.

The Capitals called up left wing Ivan Miroshnichenko after the Ovechkin injury. He is raw but plays a physical game and has a good shot.

Where does Alex Ovechkin stand in the Wayne Gretzky hunt?

He has 868 career goals and needs 27 to pass Gretzky’s mark. Under the Capitals’ announced timeline, Ovechkin would miss between 13 and 19 games and would have 45 to 51 games remaining in the regular season.

He was on pace for 68 goals before the injury, averaging 0.83 goals a game. That pace was probably not sustainable, even if he was healthy. But if he can average a little more than a goal every other game after he returns, he has a shot to pass Gretzky by the end of the season.

If not, he is under contract next season.