Capitals' Alex Ovechkin set to miss 4-6 weeks with fractured left fibula

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin, aged 39 and currently leading the NHL in scoring, is set to be sidelined for four to six weeks due to a broken leg, as announced by the team on Thursday.

The veteran Russian left winger has recorded 15 goals in 18 games, making him the oldest player in NHL history to achieve this milestone at the start of a season.

Initially listed as week-to-week, Ovechkin underwent additional medical assessments, which revealed a fractured left fibula resulting from a leg-on-leg collision with Jack McBain of Utah during the third period of a 6-2 victory for the Capitals on Monday.

Ovechkin's impressive performance has contributed to the Capitals' strong record of 13-4-1, placing him just 27 goals shy of surpassing Wayne Gretzky's all-time NHL goals record of 894. Currently, Ovechkin has amassed 868 career goals, all scored while playing for Washington.

This injury represents the longest absence in Ovechkin's NHL career, surpassing his previous longest stretch of six games missed due to an upper body injury in November 2009. Throughout his career, Ovechkin has missed only 59 games, with 35 of those attributed to injuries.

His highest number of games missed in a single season was 11 during the pandemic-affected 2020-21 season, which included seven games due to a lower-body injury and four games while in Covid-19 protocols.

According to the team's schedule, Ovechkin is expected to miss at least 13 games, with the possibility of missing all 19 remaining games in 2024.

He could potentially return for a home game against Carolina on December 20, but it is also possible that he may not be back on the ice until a January 2 home game against Minnesota.