Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin has been ruled out of Thursday’s road game against the New York Islanders because of an upper-body injury, coach Peter Laviolette said.
Laviolette said Ovechkin had a good practice and moved well on Thursday. Laviolette added that it is too early to tell if Ovechkin would play in Friday’s regular-season finale against the New York Rangers.
Ovechkin lost his footing after tripping over the stick of Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Erik Kallgren and slammed into the boards with his left shoulder during Washington’s 4-3 shootout loss on Sunday. The 36-year-old Russian sat out Tuesday’s 4-1 setback to the Islanders.
A three-time Hart Trophy recipient, Ovechkin leads the team in goals (50) and points (90) while playing in 77 games this season. He is 21 goals behind Hall of Famer Gordie Howe (801) for second all-time in NHL history.
The Capitals (44-24-12, 100 points) reside one point behind the third-place Pittsburgh Penguins in the Metropolitan Division.
–Field Level Media
