Alex Ovechkin has a date. Whether he keeps it will depend on how he feels.
The date: Saturday's game between his Washington Capitals and the Buffalo Sabres. The problem: Ovechkin is nursing a "lower-body" injury. Don't ask; neither Ovechkin nor the Caps are saying what hurts.
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Before the 7 p.m. ET game, Ovechkin will take a turn around the Verizon Center rink and decided whether he is fit. Coach Barry Trotz is down with his star making the call. Wise man, that Trotzie.
Best advice: Don't bother trying to play, Alex. Take time to heal. The Caps don't play again until Wedneday, against the New York Rangers.
Ovechkin's injury came in Tuesday's victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. He missed Thursday's loss to the Minnesota Wild, although he told CSNWashington's Chuck Gormley he would have played had it been a playoff game.
About Saturday, Ovechkin told Gormley: “We’ll see. I’ll take warmup and see how it goes. … Right now you don’t want to push it if you don’t feel healthy enough. Right now I feel much better so we’re going to try and see.”
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Trotz will have Andre Burakovsky take warmups too, in case he is needed. Not that Burakovsky can replace Ovechkin; the Great 8 is the NHL leader with 43 goals. And with 67 points Ovechkin matches teammate Nicklas Backstrom, John Tavares of the New York Islanders and Evgeni Malkin of the Pittsburgh Penguins for the NHL best.
The Caps are fighting for a playoff berth and enter the night as a wild-card team in the Eastern Conference. The Sabres, meanwhile, have the NHL's worst record.