Washington Capitals superstar captain Alex Ovechkin has been ruled out of Tuesday’s game against the visiting New York Islanders, coach Peter Laviolette announced.
Ovechkin, 35, is considered day-to-day since sustaining a lower-body injury in the Capitals’ 1-0 shootout victory over the Islanders on Thursday.
The three-time Hart Trophy recipient sat out Washington’s 6-3 victory over New York on Saturday.
Despite the absences, Laviolette said he’s not too worried in the bigger picture.
“I don’t think it’s that big of a deal where people should be wondering if he’s going to be in the playoffs or not,” Laviolette told 106.7 The Fan on Monday. “I don’t think it’s that. I said in the media the other day, sometimes we just don’t know. Somebody does something inside the room and you say day to day because you just don’t know. The players, the way we rehab now and the amount of staff, our staff is unbelievable. The training staff, the strength staff, to take players who do something and start to move it back in the right direction, it is just incredible how they work.”
Ovechkin has recorded 42 points (team-leading 24 goals, 18 assists) in 43 games this season. His 730 career goals are one shy of tying Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne for fifth place in NHL history.
Defenseman Justin Schultz has also been ruled out of Tuesday’s game with a lower-body injury.
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–Field Level Media