The “Russian Machine” really is built differently. Exactly two weeks after Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin fractured his left fibula in a hard collision during the team’s win over the Utah Hockey Club on Nov. 18, he’s back on skates.
Ovechkin was seen ahead of Washington’s practice on Monday in a tracksuit, taking some light laps on the ice, a very positive sign his recovery is going exceptionally well.
The 39-year-old was placed on injured reserve on Nov. 20 and was expected to miss four to six weeks recovering at that point.
Seeing Ovechkin take the ice so soon and with seeming ease (albeit not at full speed) is encouraging for fans who were witnessing one of his hottest streaks at the time of the injury.
He was leading the league in goals (15) and was scoring at a blistering pace, convincing some he would break Hockey Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record (894) well before the season’s end.
Ovechkin scored his 868th career goal the very night he was injured, with his chase for Gretzky paused just 27 tallies away from passing him.
Optimistic timelines have Ovechkin returning to the Capitals lineup sometime in January, and given his early sighting on the ice on Monday, there could be a chance that happens.
Fans can’t expect him to immediately return to playing at the incredibly high level he started the season at, but Ovechkin has proved doubters wrong several times before.
Even if he does not reach Gretzky’s mark by the end of the year, he still has all of next season under contract with Washington to achieve the feat.
