Russian machine never breaks, but it does leak human blood sometimes.
Saturday, during Russia’s 3-1 win against Latvia, Alex Ovechkin was struck in the face by a broken stick.
Ovechkin showed off the war wounds the following day during Russia’s 3-0 win over Switzerland.
The injury occurred when Ovechkin attempted to block a Switzerland shot from the point by Ronalds Kenins. The two sticks made contact and the Latvian player’s twig snapped in two as it flexed. One half of Kenins’ stick flew up and struck Ovechkin above his chin and below his mouth, opening up a rather gnarly cut.
Here’s another look.
Ovechkin bent over and grabbed his face as he returned to the bench. As he was tended by the Russia trainer, he was in clear discomfort and globs of blood were dabbed from his face.
Confusingly, Kenins was given a four-minute double minor for high sticking even though that’s totally not high sticking.
Ovechkin would return for his next shift during the resulting powerplay. The Russian trainer glued Ovechkin’s skin back together at the bench.
Sunday during Team Russia’s morning skate, Ovechkin’s gash was evident in this photo taken by Team Russia.
Photo: Russian Hockey Federation
