The Washington Capitals concluded their preseason by defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 5-3 on Friday, but the major news coming out of the game was Alex Ovechkin’s injury and how serious it may be.

Ovechkin left the game early in the first period after throwing a big hit on Flyers forward Travis Konecny. Ovechkin fell to the ice in pain clearly favoring his left leg.

Afterward, Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette did not reveal much beyond saying that Ovechkin will be re-evaluated on Saturday.

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“Any time a player leaves the ice you’re concerned,” Laviolette said . “They’re going to re-evaluate him tomorrow and assess him for practice the next day. I think that’s where it’s at right now.”

The Capitals are off and do not take the ice on Saturday.

Ovechkin was hurt bad enough that his removal was more than precautionary. “He wasn’t going to come back tonight,” Laviolette added. “They’ll look at the doctors, our training staff will look at it and they’ll make a decision on where he’s at.”

Meanwhile, TJ Oshie kept it lighthearted and hoped Ovechkin’s almost supernatural durability remains undefeated.

“There’s always a concern,” Oshie said per The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir. “We were kind of joking in the room [with] that Russian blood, he’ll be back soon. I don’t know if he even misses a day. He’s a tough guy. It’s always concerning seeing him lay there, but no doubt he’ll be back scoring goals in no time.”

Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB