Alexander Ovechkin Suffers Broken Bone, Longest Recovery of His Career While Pursuing Gretzky Record
Moments ago, NHL insider Chris Johnson reported that Washington Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin has broken a bone in his left leg, and will miss 4-6 weeks.
It's amazing that Ovechkin will only miss just over a month with a broken bone in his leg, and it's incredibly fortunate for all of hockey that he seemed to miss a worst case scenario.
Earlier this week, Ovechkin was carried off the ice after a knee on knee collision with Utah forward Jack McBain.
Sports doctors online estimated a 4-6 week recovery time for Ovechkin was the most probable outcome, but also said there was a possibility he could miss the rest of the season - despite the broken bone, Ovechkin turned out to be lucky.'>
However, any time missed for Ovechkin right now will put the pressure on him later when chasing Wayne Gretzky's all-time NHL goal record.
Ovechkin was on his biggest scoring heater in the last few seasons just before he was injured, making the timing of this injury so disappointing.
In the same game Ovechkin was injured, the 39 year old scored two goals to give himself 15 on the season already, leading the NHL in goals yet again.
After he slowed down to only score 31 goals last season, seeing Ovechkin explode to this scoring pace has been incredible to watch. He's now only 28 goals away from tying Gretzky's record of 894 goals.
It looked like Ovechkin could even beat Gretzky's record this season, but due to this injury, it will likely be pushed to next year - the expected final year of Ovechkin's career.
While in pursuit of the record in the last few years, Ovechkin has revealed that Gretzky often takes time to personally check in on him throughout the season.
It's a great gesture from the Oilers legend, and great sportsmanship to see Gretzky willing to pass to torch to Ovechkin.
Hopefully, Ovechkin is able to make a smooth recovery from this terribly unfortunate injury, and when he returns to the ice, can pick up the pace where he was at this season.
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