Oh No-vechkin

The Washington Capitals are already searching for a general manager and a head coach, and it appeared they may have been looking for a miracle next season as Alexander Ovechkin was helped off the ice after taking an open-ice hip check at the IIHF World Championship today. There haven't been many times I've seen Ovechkin stay down on the ice as long as he did in this game, and it looked even worse as he barely put weight on the leg that took the majority of the check. In reality, this one looked bad.

Here's what the hit looked like as Germany's Marcus Kink stepped up to hit Ovechkin with the Russian team ahead 1-0 in what was honestly a meaningless game in the standings.

While the hit didn't look all that vicious, Ovechkin left the ice without putting weight on his right leg and being helped off by two Russian officials. Needless to say, there may have been a wave of horror that went over Washington today as their superstar went down. Further to that, reporter Slava Malamud stated that Ovechkin was taken to a Minsk hospital for an MRI. Washington and Russian fans collectively held their breath for the results.

Thankfully, it appears Ovechkin will be ok. He probably won't play in the next game or two, but he was spotted limping at the hotel without crutches. My guess? Probably a bad charley horse based on that hit. That would cause the leg to be virtually useless in the moments after suffering the charley horse, but he should be alright in the long-term.

Russia finished as the top team in Group B with 18 points. They went 6-0 in the round-robin, allowing just six goals while putting 29 behind opposition goalies. The Russians are dangerous in the tournament, but they could use Ovechkin down the stretch. We'll have to see if he can return to the lineup, but my guess is that he'll make sure that leg is ready for the NHL season before rushing back to the Russian lineup.

Rest easy, Russia. Your star sniper will be back... eventually.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!