Capitals Alex Ovechkin out day-to-day with lower-body injury

Some unwanted news in the U.S. capital.

On Monday, the Washington Capitals announced that captain Alex Ovechkin is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

The team didn’t reveal what exactly is ailing the 41-year-old, nor when he suffered the injury.

Given the fact that it’s a day-to-day injury, it provides some optimism that Ovechkin will be good to go by the time the regular season comes around. The Capitals kick off their 2026-27 season on Oct. 2, when they take on the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes. Washington has three more preseason games remaining before the regular season, with the last contest coming this Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Many suspect this is going to be Ovechkin’s final season in the NHL. The way he was treated at the end of the 2025-26 campaign led some to believe that the GR8 was set to step away from the game. Yet, the Russian sniper signed a one-year, $9.5 million contract for this year.

It isn’t like Ovi won’t be able to make an impact on a Caps team that is looking to get back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The reason he has the title of the greatest goal scorer in hockey history is because of his consistency over the course of his career. He posted 32 goals and 64 points last season, giving him 20 seasons in which he at least reached the 30-goal plateau. The only year Ovechkin failed to reach that mark was during the COVID-19-shortened 2021 season.

In 1,573 regular-season games in the NHL, Ovechkin has posted 929 goals and 758 assists for 1,687 points, with another 147 points in 161 postseason contests.