Just hours before the puck dropped between the Washington Capitals and Colorado Avalanche, it was announced that Caps captain Alex Ovechkin suffered a fracture to his left fibula and will be out of action for four to six weeks.
The Russian Machine is temporarily broken thanks to a knee-on-knee collision with Utah Hockey Club forward Jack McBain three days earlier. Prior to the collision, the 39-year-old was off to arguably the best start of his Hall of Fame career, with an impressive 15 goals and 10 assists in 18 games played this season. Without his hulking presence in the lineup or on the ice, Washington struggled to get going offensively. Forward Pierre-Luc Dubois scored his second goal of the season, but no one else was able to slip a puck past Colorado goalie Alexandar Georgiev, who stopped 28 of 29 shots he faced.
The Capitals have gotten off to an impressive start this season, posting a 13-5-1 record thus far. But much of their success could be attributed to Ovechkin’s incredible production. Without their captain in the lineup for the foreseeable future, can others step up to help fill the void? Beyond that short-term problem for Spencer Carbery’s squad, the biggest storyline in hockey is now on hold — with Ovechkin sidelined at 868 career goals, just 27 shy of surpassing Wayne Gretzky’s record.
