Moments ago, Washington Capitals superstar Alexander Ovechkin was helped off the ice as he was tripped and injured during the game against the Utah Hockey Club.
The injury occurred at 14 minutes and 30 seconds remaining in the third period when Ovechkin suffered a collision with Utah forward Jack McBain has the capitals were trying to get out of their own end.
It was clear that he was in immediate pain and could not get up off the ice and signalled to the trainers come out immediately. Ovechkin's knee took a forceful contact - looking a little similar to the Patrik Laine injury that's kept the Habs forward out long term.
After a few ugly moments down on the ice, Ovechkin was skated over to his bench not putting any weight on his leg.
Sports doctor Harjas Grewal commented on the injury, saying his most likely diagnosis would be a torn MCL, which would cause Ovechkin to miss weeks. However, an ACL injury is possible, which would be over a year recovery time.
A long term injury would be a devastating blow for the Capitals and for Ovechkin as he is currently on a tear this season to become the number one scoring hockey player of all time as he's chasing Wayne Gretzky's record of 894 goals.
As it stood prior to the injury, Ovechkin scored two goals on the evening and that put him at 868 goals. The entire league and most of the fan base is watching to see if he can get this done this year but if he misses any time due to this injury fans may need to wait to see if he can get it done.
After it seemed like Ovechkin slowed down last season, seeing him tear it up early this year has been incredible to watch. It'd be horrible for the sport if Ovechkin missed any significant time.
Earlier this year, Ovechkin opened up that Gretzky has been constantly texting him in the last couple years, keeping in touch as he pursues the all time record.
The entire NHL will wait and watch to see if there is any significant damage to his leg and hopefully this will not be the case, and he can continue with his mission to becoming the highest goal scoring player of all time in the NHL.
