Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goals record is on hold after an injury to his lower leg on Monday night.
The team announced Tuesday that the 39-year-old forward is considered week-to-week pending further evaluations with team physicians on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
Ovechkin exited with 14:30 remaining in Monday’s 6-2 win over the Utah Hockey Club in Salt Lake City following a collision with Utah forward Jack McBain.
After what appeared to be inadvertent contact, Ovechkin crumpled to the ice and took a moment to get to his skates. He was helped off the ice by teammate Jakob Chychrun and sat on the bench briefly before returning to the locker room.
Ovechkin scored two goals before the injury and has 13 in his last 11 games. With 868 goals in his career, the Russian veteran needs 27 to break Gretzky’s mark of 894 set from 1978-99.
Ovechkin tied an NHL record on Monday when he scored against a 178th different goalie, Utah’s Connor Ingram. He now shares that mark with Jaromir Jagr. In addition, Ovechkin posted his 100th multi-goal road game, becoming the first player to hit that mark.
The Capitals, winners of three straight games, next play on Thursday against the visiting Colorado Avalanche.
