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On Thursday, the Washington Capitals revealed that Alex Ovechkin’s left fibula fracture will keep him out of action for four to six weeks.

In Monday’s victory over the Utah Hockey Club, Ovechkin hurt his leg. The veteran will have to sit out for over a month and will have to put his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goal record on hold, as Washington has set a specific deadline for his return to the ice.

With 868 goals throughout his career, Ovechkin is just 27 short of Gretzky’s record of 894.

Ovechkin was on a hot streak that saw him net 15 goals in his first 18 games this season before the injury. He was on course to surpass the record as early as late December or January.

Things are looking up for that schedule now.

Team physicians conducted additional testing on Alex Ovechkin, captain of the Washington Capitals. It was determined that Ovechkin will be out for four to six weeks due to a broken left fibula.

This sentence was tweeted by CapitalsPR on November 21, 2024.
Ovechkin has 51 regular season games remaining to try to tie or beat the record, and he must return within the minimal timeframe of four weeks on December 20. He will have missed 13 games. For him to surpass Gretzky, his goal average would have to be 0.53 per game.

That drops to 43 games if the return is at the longer end of the prediction, which is January 2. To get there this season, Ovechkin would have to score 0.63 goals per game on average.

With an average of 0.83 goals per game, Ovechkin had a solid season. In 2022, he recorded an average of 0.63 or higher; however, in three of the past four seasons, he has fallen short of that mark.

The Capitals’ season, which had gotten off to a good start, is further jeopardized by the injury.

With a record of 13-5-1 and 27 points, Washington is in third place in the Metropolitan Division, behind the Carolina Hurricanes (28 points) and the New Jersey Devils (28 points).