Washington Capitals

Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin is "week to week" with a lower leg injury, the team announced Tuesday.

After being evaluated further on Wednesday in D.C., the superstar captain was placed on injured reserve, per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press.

Additionally, Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery confirmed Ovechkin's injury is not season-ending. A more specific timeline for his return is expected Thursday after further evaluation.

Ovechkin suffered the injury Monday during the Capitals' 6-2 road win over the Utah Hockey Club.

The injury occurred during a third-period collision with Utah's Jack McBain. Ovechkin attempted to skate off the setback but struggled to put weight on his left leg and eventually left for the locker room.

Ovechkin was in the middle of a goalscoring tear that saw him find the back of the net five times in the Capitals' last two games.

His career goal total currently sits at 868, leaving him 26 tallies shy of matching Wayne Gretzky's all-time goalscoring record.

Ovechkin has been one of the most durable forwards in the NHL over his 19-year career and is consistently Washington's best player.

He finished the 2021-22 season with 50 goals and 40 assists for 90 points in 77 games and followed that with 42 goals and 33 assists for 75 points in 73 games during the 2022-23 campaign.

Through 79 games last season, Ovechkin tallied 31 goals and 34 assists for 65 points and finished far behind Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews for the Rocket Richard trophy as the NHL's leading goalscorer. He is typically a perennial contender for the award, but he struggled to find the back of the net consistently last year.

This season, Ovechkin is back to his old goalscoring dominance as he leads the NHL with 15 goals through 18 games.

When Ovechkin is sidelined, the Capitals don't have anyone to make up his scoring production, especially with T.J. Oshie out for the year with a back injury. That said, Connor McMichael has 12 goals in 18 games of what is proving to be a breakout season for the fifth-year forward.

The Capitals lead the Metropolitan Division with a 13-4-1 record. With Ovechkin set to miss time, Washington will face a steep road to holding the division lead over challengers like the Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers.

The Washington Capitals on Tuesday unveiled "their special black screaming eagle jersey for six home games during the 2024-25 season." The Capitals previously announced Sept. 9 a deal with TikTok to have the social media platform's logo adorn its white road jersey.

TikTok is also the "title sponsor" for the franchise's celebration of its 50th anniversary.

The Capitals provided details on their new black uniforms on Tuesday:

To commemorate the Washington Capitals 50th Anniversary, the Capitals will wear their special black screaming eagle jersey for six home games during the 2024-25 season. The jersey features a blue, black, and bronze color scheme, with the Capitol Building displayed on the shoulder. The design is reminiscent of the Capitals' jersey, first introduced in 1995.

It combines their first-ever third jersey and the original rebrand. The screaming eagle preying in the downward design direction is meant to evoke an eagle's energy, power, and speed, chosen for its symbolic status as the national bird of the United States. The shoulder patch includes the Capitol building in front of two crossed hockey sticks. The logo was completed with two stars in the background and a hockey puck nested between the blades of the sticks.

Jim Van Stone, the president of business operations and COO at Monumental Sports & Entertainment, alsospoke about the deal with TikTok:

As a sports enterprise with a large and diverse fan base, we are excited to utilize TikTok to uniquely connect, entertain and interact with fans across all of our Monumental Sports teams, starting with the Capitals 50th Anniversary Celebration this fall.

TikTok empowers our fans to share their passion for the Caps and all our teams in their own unique ways, and we are excited by the opportunity the partnership provides to continue to grow the game, showcase our players' personalities and innovatively engage with the TikTok community through content creation.

In 2021, the NHL opened the door for teams to have jersey sponsors starting with the 2022-23 season. The Capitals were the first team to take advantage of the opportunity, confirming that September they struck a deal to have a Caesars Sportsbook patch on their home and third jerseys.

Across the league, selling advertising space on player uniforms has been a financial boon. Sportico's Kurt Badenhausen reported in June the NHL raked in $1.4 billion from sponsorships, a 10 percent increase from the previous year. Jersey patches alone were valued at $3.9 million on average.

The Caps will debut their updated road jerseys in their Sept. 24 preseason game against the Boston Bruins.

The Washington Capitals are on the brink of elimination after going down 3-0 to the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Capitals dropped Game 1 4-1 before making things a little more challenging in Game 2 but still losing 4-3. On Friday, the Rangers handled Washington 3-1.

Just five teams in NHL history have come back from a 3-0 deficit, so history certainly isn't in the Capitals' favor. Washington will need to be perfect from here on out, but it's hard to imagine it has what it takes to win four straight games.

After the loss, fans ripped veteran Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals for going down 3-0.

Ovechkin has been a nonfactor for the Capitals in this series. He has yet to record a goal or assists and has a -1 +/-. His sluggish play has made things much more difficult for Washington and has irked fans.

Ovechkin is already a legend, but if he can somehow will his team back from the 3-0 deficit, he would further establish that status and win back some fans after his early struggles.

The Capitals and Rangers will face off in an elimination game on Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.

The New York Rangers have taken a 2-0 first-round playoff series lead over the Washington Capitals after a 4-3 home victory on Tuesday evening.

Rangers center Mika Zibanejad authored the game's key moment (at the expense of Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin), leading to the game-winning goal.

The Rangers were up 3-2 late in the second period but found themselves on the penalty kill after defenseman Erik Gustafsson went to the penalty box for a delay-of-game.

Ovechkin possessed the puck in the neutral zone, but Zibanejad ripped the puck away and started a game of tic-tac-toe with teammate Chris Kreider. Zibanejad then slid the puck into the slot, where defenseman K'Andre Miller went top shelf for the 4-2 edge.

Capitals forward Tom Wilson scored a tip-in goal on the power play with 8:15 left to slash the Rangers' lead in half, but New York survived despite Washington having an extra attacker for the final 2:43.

Zibanejad and Rangers center Vincent Trocheck paced the Blueshirts with a goal and an assist apiece. Jack Roslovic scored the other New York goal, netting his on the power play to break a two-all tie in the second. Connor McMichael and Dylan Strome scored Washington's other goals.

The Capitals entered this series as heavy underdogs against the Presidents' Trophy winners. They didn't clinch a playoff berth until the final day of the season and lost six straight games before rallying to win four of five heading into the playoffs.

But through two games, the Caps simply look outmatched.

More troublesome is the fact that Ovechkin has endured a rough start to this series.

Through 38:47 of ice time over two games, Ovechkin has no points and just one shot-on-goal. It's been an oddly quiet pair of contests for the NHL's second all-time leading goalscorer, who found the net 31 times and dished 34 assists in his 19th season.

Ovechkin went pointless against New York in his two regular season games against the Rangers, but he still registered four shots per game. That also makes his quiet outings all the more puzzling as the Capitals now find themselves two losses away from elimination.

The legend is obviously capable of much better play, and perhaps a series shift to Washington leads to a change. But for now, it's been a rough go for Ovechkin, and fans have taken notice:

Game 3 of the best-of-seven series will take place on Friday in Washington, D.C. at 7 p.m. ET.

Washington Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen was stretchered off the ice Saturday after a hit from Tampa Bay Lightning forward Michael Eyssimont.

Jensen appeared to lose consciousness after colliding with the boards at Capital One Arena.

The collision occurred in front of the Lightning bench with fewer than two minutes remaining in the first period.

The Capitals announced that Jensen suffered an injury after the hit but that he was "conscious, alert and has the use of all his extremities."

Jensen logged seven minutes of ice time and recorded one shot on goal prior to the hit.

Officials delayed the final 1:31 of the period until after the intermission.

Eyssimont leads the Lightning with 99 penalty minutes so far this season. No penalty was called following the hit on Jensen.

Jensen had led all Capitals skaters in ice time before his exit. He was skating on the second pairing alongside Alex Alexeyev.

The blueliner's usage has increased since his usual defense partner, Rasmus Sandin, suffered a regular-season ending head injury. Sandin was similarly hurt after a hit by Ottawa Senators forward Parker Kelly sent him into the boards on April 7.

In Sandin's absence, Jensen has played a major role during the Capitals' late-season push for one of the two remaining playoff spots in the Eastern Conference. He led all Washington skaters with more than 25 minutes on the ice Tuesday during a crucial 2-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings to help keep the Capitals in the postseason race.

The 33-year-old defenseman began his NHL career with the Red Wings in 2016 before he was traded to the Capitals in 2019. He is in his fifth full season in Washington.

Jensen had recorded one goal and 13 assists in 77 contests this season heading into Saturday's game.

Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson has been suspended six games for high sticking forward Noah Gregor during a 7-3 Wednesday loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The NHL Department of Player Safety announced the suspension Friday following a hearing held with Wilson over Zoom.

He will forfeit $161,458.32 during the suspension, according to the NHL.

Wilson earned a four-minute double minor for the high-sticking penalty, which he took with just under eight minutes remaining in the third period.

Wilson drew his stick back in "an extremely reckless fashion, making direct and forceful contact with Gregor's face," the DoPS said in an explanation video.

Gregor said that Wilson apologized immediately after the hit, which caused damage to his teeth, according to TSN and the Toronto Sun's Terry Koshan.

"While we acknowledge Wilson's assertion that he did not mean to strike Gregor in the face, the fact remains that Wilson's stick is drawn back behind him, then swung forcefully and recklessly into his opponent," the DoPS said.

The DoPs also cited Wilson's "substantial track record of supplemental discipline" in their decision.

The suspension marks the sixth of Wilson's career and raises his career fines total to $1.4 million, according to The Athletic's Chris Johnston.

Wilson's longest suspension came in 2018, when he was suspended for 20 games (reduced to 14 on appeal) for a preseason hit to the head of St. Louis Blues forward Oskar Sundqvist. He was last suspended in 2021.

The NHL's announcement came hours before the Capitals' Friday night home game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

Wilson is ranked fourth on the team with 17 goals in 66 games this season. His absence could hurt the Capitals' chances in the race for the last Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, especially because he will be sidelined for a Tuesday contest with a Detroit Red Wings team seeking the same spot.

The Capitals forward will also miss a Thursday rematch against the Maple Leafs in Toronto. He will next be eligible to play on April 2 in a home rivalry matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Evgeny Kuznetsov's run with the Washington Capitals has come to an end after 11 seasons.

Per TSN's Pierre LeBrun, the Capitals are trading Kuznetsov to the Carolina Hurricanes for a 2025 third-round draft pick.

Washington is picking up 50 percent of the remaining money left on Kuznetsov's contract, which includes a $7.8 million cap hit in 2024-25.

Kuznetsov hasn't appeared in a game since Jan. 27 due to personal reasons. He entered the NHL/NHLPA personal assistance program in February, but Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said at the time he didn't have specific information to share about the situation:

"There's not a lot of background of what we know. There's not a lot of background information that they share with us, other than just the fact that he's in the program. So, for us, as organization, staff, players, it's just supporting him and his family as he gets the help that he needs."

The 31-year-old was cleared by the program to return to practice on March 2. The Capitals announced that same day they waived Kuznetsov.

After going unclaimed on waivers, Washington loaned him to the team's AHL affiliate in Hershey, Pennsylvania. He has practiced with the Hershey Bears twice this week, most recently on Thursday.

Kuznetsov had not yet been cleared to play in a game by the NHL/NHLPA personal assistance program. It's unclear when he might make his debut for the Hurricanes.

ESPN's Emily Kaplan noted Carolina only recently entered into talks with the Capitals for Kuznetsov, and the Hurricanes view him as a "high end" top-six player if the trade works out as they hope.

Kuznetsov only had 17 points in 43 games this season before stepping away from the Capitals. He has 568 points in 723 career games since making his debut during the 2013-14 season.

The Hurricanes are pushing all of their chips into the table for a chance to win a Stanley Cup. Their 80 points are tied with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the fourth-most in the Eastern Conference.

Carolina was swept by the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. The Panthers (43-17-4) and New York Rangers (40-18-4) are the only teams in the conference with more wins than the Hurricanes' 37.