The Pittsburgh Penguins won’t play the Washington Capitals again until Jan. 18, 2025, at Capital One Arena, which is plenty of time for their captain, Alex Ovechkin, to heal from a broken fibula.
Breaking: Alex Ovechkin has a broken left fibula and is expected to be out four to six weeks, the Washington Capitals announced Thursday.
The 39-year-old currently leads the league with 15 goals and is 27 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time NHL goalscoring record. pic.twitter.com/epX7NZhaIR
— ESPN (@espn) November 21, 2024
It was announced yesterday that Ovechkin, who is leading the NHL in goals, would be out four to six weeks after suffering the injury on Tuesday night in Utah.
The injury couldn’t have come at a worse time. Ovechkin had five goals in the previous two games and was inching closer to Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 goals, sitting at 868.
Ovechkin had no goals or points during the first meeting against the Penguins on Nov. 8. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby earned an assist on the game’s opening goal.
Considering both future Hall of Famers tend to bring out the best in one another during head-to-head matchups, fans will not miss out on an opportunity to see them again unless there’s a setback in Ovechkin’s recovery.
Related: Sidney Crosby Career Goal Tracker: How Close Is The Penguins Captain To 600 Goals
Hopefully, by then, Crosby will have scored his 600th goal and will be chasing Mario Lemieux’s franchise assist record, while Ovechkin will resume his quest for the NHL goals record.
The Penguins and Capitals will meet twice after their Jan. 18 contest: once on Feb. 22 and the final day of the regular season, Apr. 17.
