The Washington Capitals placed captain Alex Ovechkin on injured reserve Wednesday as he recovers from a lower-leg injury.
Ovechkin, 39, exited with 14:30 remaining in Monday’s 6-2 win over the Utah Hockey Club in Salt Lake City following a collision with Utah forward Jack McBain.
Ovechkin scored two goals before the injury and has 13 in his past 11 games. With 868 goals in his career, the Russian veteran needs 27 to break Wayne Gretzky’s mark of 894 set from 1978-99.
On Tuesday, the Capitals announced Ovechkin would be week-to-week pending further evaluations with team physicians on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.
The Capitals filled his roster spot with forward Ivan Miroshnichenko, recalled from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League.
Miroshnichenko, 20, has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 16 games with Hershey this season. He recorded six points (two goals, four assists) in 21 games with Washington last season.
The Capitals selected him with the 20th overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft.
