Alex Ovechkin told reporters Thursday he does not have any concerns about the lower-body injury that forced him to leave the Washington Capitals’ first practice of training camp early.
When asked if would return to the ice soon, however, Ovechkin played coy saying, “I don’t know. We’ll see tomorrow.”
The 40-year-old winger did not reveal any details about his ailment and did not participate in Thursday’s skate test. Ovechkin and some other veterans reportedly completed their tests prior to the start of this year’s camp.
Ovechkin has now started back-to-back training camps with an injury. Head coach Spencer Carbery called his removal from Thursday’s skate “precautionary” and said the team’s captain is currently considered “day-to-day.”
“He came off early today, nothing significant,” Carbery said.
Ovechkin is the latest addition to what Carbery called a “laundry list” of early injuries at the start of camp. Defenseman Martin Fehervary and recently-acquired right winger Justin Sourdif both donned blue non-contact jerseys on the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex.
After successfully chasing down Wayne Gretzky for most NHL goals all-time in April, Ovechkin is entering his 21st season just three goals short of becoming the first player in league history to record 900. Ovechkin accomplished the feat despite missing the most amount of games in a single season, 17, that he has in his career.
Sixteen of those absences came after he broke his left leg against the Utah Hockey Club in late November. He missed one final game at the end of the regular season so that he could rest for the playoff run.
