Photo: Patrick Smith
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin will miss this year’s All-Star Game and the Caps’ February 2 game against Florida to rest a nagging lower-body injury. Ovechkin was voted by fans to be the captain of the Metropolitan Division All Stars. Hockey Night In Canada’s Elliotte Friedman was the first to report the news.
After Wednesday’s game, Caps head coach Barry Trotz said the injury has been bothering Ovechkin since mid-November. “If we wanna accomplish what we wanna accomplish we can’t do it without Alex Ovechkin, and that’s the bigger picture,” Trotz said according to Julian Coltre.
Meanwhile Ovechkin was apologetic he could not attend.
“I want to thank the fans for voting me and tell them sorry, but right now our focus to getting ready for the rest of the year,” Ovechkin said, according to NHL.com’s Katie Brown. “It’s hard, because I like to show up, I like the show and do some show, but it sucks.”
Trotz on potential criticism: "Ovi has gone probably more than any player in the last decade. … We have a bigger goal."
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) January 28, 2016
Alex Ovechkin will miss the 2016 NHL All-Star Game due to a lower-body injury that would be better served by rest, the Washington Capitals announced today. The decision was made in consultation with Ovechkin and the Capitals front office, coaching and athletic training staffs.
“We made this difficult decision after taking into consideration what we felt was best for Alex and our organization,” said Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan. “Alex has been an incredible ambassador for our team and the league, but we believe it is better if he uses this time to heal and ideally be completely healthy for the duration of the season.”
Ovechkin’s playing status is day-to-day, but by NHL rule, he will be required to sit out the Capitals Feb. 2 game against Florida.
Wednesday night’s game against the Flyers will be Ovechkin’s only game during a 16-day span.
#Caps Ovi eligible to return from lower-body injury on Feb.4 vs #NYI.
That begins busy stretch for #Capitals w/3 games in 4 nights; 4 in 6— Ben Raby (@BenRaby31) January 28, 2016
Here’s Ovechkin’s full interview with reporters.
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