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Capitals Issue Timeframe for Alex Ovechkin's Imminent Return

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Antonio Losada | Last updated Dec 21, 2024 6:15 AM ET

Alex Ovechkin’s return to the Washington Capitals lineup will have to wait until after the Christmas break, head coach Spencer Carbery confirmed Wednesday.

Despite being cleared for contact during practice on Friday, Carbery tempered expectations, stating the star forward won’t play before Dec. 28, when the Capitals face the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“We won’t see him before the break, so the target will become some time after the break,” Carbery said, per NHL.com. “Whether it’s that first game (against Toronto is uncertain), but we won’t see him in these next three.”

Ovechkin has been sidelined since mid-November with a left fibula fracture, sustained during an awkward knee-on-knee collision with Utah’s Jack McBain.

The injury put Ovechkin's explosive start to the season on hiatus as the forward was sidelined having scored 15 goals and 25 points in just 18 games.

Before the injury, Ovechkin was playing his best hockey and was on pace to easily clear Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record. That's now going to be a little harder to pull off, although the Capitals forward should still have time to surpass Gretzky's 894-goal figure.

The 38-year-old Ovechkin is expected to make his return before the New Year and is currently sitting at 868 goals, just 26 shy of tying the record. Assuming he returns on Dec. 28, Ovechkin would have 50 games left this season to close the gap.

The Capitals have managed to thrive in Ovechkin’s absence, posting an 9-4-1 record in their last 14 games, all of them without Ovechkin.

Most impressively, Washington's unexpected performance has cemented the Capitals as dark-horse championship contenders after a turbulent 2023–24 season that saw them exit the postseason in the first round at the hands of the now-struggling New York Rangers.

The Capitals are 22-8-2 through 32 games and lead the Metropolitan Division with 46 points, one more than the second-place New Jersey Devils, although New Jersey has played three more games than Washington.

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

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