While many people believed Alex Ovechkin was slowing down at the NHL level, the 39-year old has proved everyone wrong through 18 games of the 2024/25 campaign.
In that stretch, the Capitals captain has been incredible as he leads the NHL in goals with 15 while posting 25 points, showing that not only is he not slowing down, but that he could still have some of the best hockey of his career ahead of him.
Unfortunately, that all came crashing down on Monday night against the Utah Hockey Club when Ovi collided with Jack McBain knee-on-knee, with The Great 8 leaving the ice not to return.
We don't yet have an official update on the situation, as the Capitals are taking their time evaluating their captain with the hope that the worst case scenario can be avoided and he can get back on the ice very soon.
Now, a doctor on social media who often posts about NHL injuries has given his take, and unfortunately that worst case scenario is a torn ACL which would end his season, while the best case scenario is simply a few weeks out.
At Ovechkin's age, a torn ACL could certainly hold him back from chasing down Wayne Gretzky's goal scoring record, a record in which he sits just 26 goals back of, so everyone in the entire NHL world is crossing their fingers for positive news on this situation.
Ultimately though, we will just have to wait and see how this one plays out, with the team likely to announce his injury fate at some point on Tuesday or Wednesday, and with Washington off to a blistering hot 13-4-1 start through 18 games, the result of this evaluation could change the complexion of their season.
G | A | PTS | ||
Zachary Werenski | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
Sean Monahan | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
Jesper Bratt | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Frederick Gaudreau | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
Jack Hughes | - | 3 | 3 | |
Nikita Kucherov | - | 3 | 3 | |
Mackenzie Weegar | - | 3 | 3 | |
Kent Johnson | 2 | - | 2 | |
Alexander Wennberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
Mitchell Chaffee | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Matthew Coronato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Marcus Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Nick Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Conor Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Brandon Hagel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Stefan Noesen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Corey Perry | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Igor Sharangovich | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Dmitry Voronkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
Complete stats |
STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Hurricanes | 18 | 14 | 4 | - | 28 | |
Capitals | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 27 | |
Wild | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 27 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Devils | 21 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 17 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
Stars | 18 | 12 | 6 | - | 24 | |
Golden Knights | 19 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 24 | |
Conference | Cumulative |