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Alex Ovechkin Shows Chipped Tooth After Brutal Mouth Hit in Blackhawks Game

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Jan 4, 2026 6:06 AM ET

The Washington Capitals suffered a 3-2 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday, but Capitals star Alex Ovechkin was the one leaving for home with a longer-lasting loss.

With 16:22 left in the third period, Ovechkin was struck in the mouth by the stick of Chicago defenseman Louis Crevier near the boards.

Ovechkin immediately dropped to the ice before skating off in pain during a subsequent stoppage in play after no penalty was called on the play.

The Capitals forward approached referee Kendrick Nicholson in visible frustration and held up his lip to show the damage before hitting the sideline to fix the issue.

#ALLCAPS Ovechkin lets the refs have it for missing a high stick. thank god hes not hurt pic.twitter.com/R6e8CxbWqQ
— Capitals Replays (@capsreplays) January 4, 2026

The Capitals captain also showed the injury to the team's head athletic trainer, Jason Serbus, after getting on the bench.

Monumental Sports Network’s Joe Beninati, in the booth for Saturday's game, made his thoughts on the play clear, saying, “How can you miss that?”

This isn’t the first time Ovechkin has suffered teeth damage. He lost his first tooth in 2007 after a high stick in a game against the Atlanta Thrashers, then took further damage during the Capitals’ 2018 Stanley Cup run.

Alex Ovechkin suffered a chipped tooth tonight, right next to his already-missing front tooth.

Missed high stick. Was not thrilled at all. pic.twitter.com/wBKdkiQyB3
— Sammi Silber (@sammisilber) January 4, 2026

The Russian winger returned to the ice shortly without missing a shift and finished the game without major problems, logging 18:49 of ice time across 23 shifts.

Later in the game, Ovechkin delivered a retaliatory slash to the Blackhawks' Alex Vlasic and drew a tripping penalty on Wyatt Kaiser with 12:33 remaining.

Nick Foligno scored in the sixth round of the shootout to win the game for Chicago, dropping Washington to a winless 0–5 record in shootouts this season.

The Capitals (21-15-6) and in possession of the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot, will host the Anaheim Ducks on Monday night, with puck drop set for 7 p.m. ET.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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