“Russian machine never breaks.” That’s what a young Washington Capitals forward named Alex Ovechkin told reporters after a 2006 game in which he left and did not return after suffering a foot injury.
Well, 18 years later the Russian machine is cracked.
The 39-year-old Capitals captain is expected to miss four to six weeks with a fractured left fibula, per a statement from the team.
Ovechkin went down in the third period of Washington’s 6-2 win over the Utah Hockey Club on Monday after colliding legs with Jack McBain, needing assistance off the ice and down to the locker room.
The team placed Ovechkin on injured reserve Wednesday, recalling forward Ivan Miroshnichenko from AHL Hershey and promoting Hendrix Lapierre into the lineup for Thursday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche.
Ovechkin, in his 20th season, was on one of the hottest streaks of his career before the unfortunate injury episode.
He led the league in goals (15) having scored in each of his previous five periods played, increasing his career total to 868.
Ovechkin’s season is now paused with him just 27 goals from passing Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky for most all-time (894).
An optimistic recovery would see him return to the ice in early January but his playing form will likely be below the white hot pace he was playing at in November.
However, all hope is not lost for “The Great Eight” to still break Gretzky’s record this season.
After a sluggish start to the 2023-24 campaign in which he only scored seven times before January, Ovechkin tallied 34 over the course of the final four months of the season.
While a leg fracture and a slow start are two very different conditions to recover from, history indicates Ovechkin is capable of things no ordinary player can produce.
If he were to slow down significantly after returning or experience an injury setback, he still has another year under contract with Washington.
Passing Gretzky in 2025-26 is still very much on the table if not likely given Ovechkin’s incredible 0.83 goals-per-game pace to start this year.