Capitals get Alex Ovechkin injury concern with season opener approaching

Washington Capitals fans got a jolt of unwelcome news to start the week.

The team announced Monday that captain Alex Ovechkin is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury, adding a wrinkle to the final stretch of training camp.

The Capitals have not said when Ovechkin got hurt or offered specifics on the injury, only that its day-to-day in nature.

That label offers a decent amount of hope that the 41-year-old winger will be ready when Washington opens the regular season on Oct. 2 against the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.

Before that puck drops, the Capitals still have three preseason games left, wrapping up Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Coaches have not put a firm timeline on his return, but nothing about the situation is being treated as alarming behind the scenes.

Ovechkin's status has been a storyline all offseason.

After the way his final months of the 2025-26 season played out, plenty of people around the league wondered if the Russian sniper was ready to walk away for good.

Instead, he signed a one-year, $9.5 million deal to keep chasing more milestones in a Capitals sweater.

Losing him for any stretch, even a short one, is the kind of thing that gets noticed in D.C., especially with a team trying to claw its way back into the playoff picture.

Even at 41, Ovechkin remains one of the most dangerous shooters the sport has ever produced.

He put up 32 goals and 64 points a season ago, extending his own record to 20 different seasons with at least 30 goals, with the lone exception coming during the shortened 2021 campaign.

For his career, Ovechkin has 929 goals and 758 assists across 1,573 regular season games, adding another 147 points in 161 playoff appearances.

Barring a setback, all signs point to him being in the lineup when Washington drops the puck for real.

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