Nearly 10 years ago, Alex Ovechkin told Tarik el Bashir, “I’m okay; Russian machine never breaks” after taking an errant shot to his leg at practice. Sunday, Ovechkin took that toughness to another level after checking Clayton Stoner into the Caps bench.

Dangerously, Stoner’s legs went airborne. His right skate swiped Ovechkin’s left leg from under the knee up to the mid-thigh.

Ovechkin didn’t miss a shift– though after Marcus Johansson scored, he looked like he was birthing a pain baby on the bench.

There was no blood, which I can only assume means he’s really made out of steel.

Full RMNB Coverage of Caps at Ducks