It’s always tough when a player goes down with an injury that will keep them out for an extended period of time. The Colorado Avalanche are no strangers to this sort of instance as they’ve had ot deal with what the Washington Capitals are going through right now, except Colorado has had it worse.
That being said, the hockey world kept its eyes on news as Capitals legend Alexander Ovechkin went down with a leg injury a few days ago. Everybody was waiting for word on the extent of the injury and while it could have been worse, Ovechkin is still listed as week-to-week.
INJURY UPDATE: Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin sustained an injury to his lower leg during last night’s game in Utah, and is listed as week to week. Ovechkin will have further evaluation with team physicians in DC on Wednesday.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) November 19, 2024
Of course, that means that the Avalanche will not be facing the 39-year-old on Thursday night, when they travel to Washington. It’s a huge break for Colorado, as Ovechkin has 15 goals in 18 games, and is on a quest to reach and surpass The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, in goals in a career. Ovechkin has 868, while Gretzky is atop the NHL all-time leaderboards with 894. Do the math, and that’s a difference of 26.
Although there was absolutely no way Ovechkin would reach that milestone in his next game, it’s a relief that the Avalanche will not have to face him. Ovechkin leads the Capitals in goals with 15.
The Capitals lead the Metropolitan division with a 13-4-1 record this season. With Ovechkin in the lineup, it would have made an Avalanche victory extremely difficult. It’s a huge loss for Washington, although the Avalanche have had many injury issues of their own. However, the returns of Valeri Nichushkin and Jonathan Drouin are a big help.
Ovechkin being out of the lineup is also a huge break for the Avalanche’s goaltenders—whoever is slated to start that game. Alexandar Georgiev was placed on injured reserve a couple of days ago, but word is that it was possible that he only misses one game (Monday against the Philadelphia Flyers). Justus Annunen has played fairly well this season, and I expect him to get the start.