The Washington Capitals lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 in the shootout, but post-game, all the talk surrounded Alex Ovechkin and the injury he suffered early in the third period.
As Ovechkin tried to score on a breakaway, he tripped over Erik Kallgren’s outstretched goalie stick and slammed hard into the end boards.
A Sportsnet replayed posted by @TicTacTOmar showed Ovechkin moving and flexing his arm as he left the ice.
Ovechkin has to go to the room for protocol
he's mad pic.twitter.com/VzMKenaZx2
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) April 25, 2022
The Capitals’ PR announced Ovechkin would not return due to an upper-body injury.
After the game, TJ Oshie was asked about Ovechkin and seemingly gave an upbeat report about his status.
“I mean, I’ve never met anyone tougher than that guy,” TJ Oshie said. “We all hope he’s fine. I just talked to him and I think he’ll be all right. It’s always scary seeing Big 8 go down and lay on the ice. Like I said, he’s a tough guy. But If there’s anyone I would imagine who would miss [no] more time than he needs to, it’d be 8.”
Meanwhile, Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette was more evasive when asked about Ovechkin’s injury and Oshie’s revelation.
“I haven’t talked to the trainer yet,” Laviolette said. “We’ll get an evaluation on him and see where he’s at.”
The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir reported that Ovechkin is expected to join the Capitals for their team photo on Monday.
FYI: The #Caps expect Ovechkin to be at the team photo and in full uniform tomorrow. https://t.co/jSNxm8KjWG
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) April 25, 2022
Ovechkin has missed only two games this season — all due to testing positive for COVID-19 ahead of the All-Star Break. Ovechkin missed the February 2 game against the Edmonton Oilers and the February 10 game against the Montreal Canadiens because he could not travel into Canada.
Screenshot: @Capitals/Twitter
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