The Russian Ice Hockey Federation confirmed today that Alex Ovechkin won’t join Russia at Worlds due to a “lower-body injury”.
The Federation’s statement said:
“Forward Alexander Ovechkin cannot join the team at the World Championship because of a lower-body injury. Russia’s coaches contacted three Washington players, with all of them agreeing to travel to the tournament. However, during a conversation with coaches, Alexander Ovechkin stated that he is ready to join the team immediately as he always does, but doesn’t want to let the team down because he finished the NHL playoffs on pain-numbing injections.”
The statement also announced that Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov and defenseman Dmitry Orlov were “called up” to join the team.
The Federation’s statement can be read here.
May have suspected that Ovechkin’s collision with the Maple Leafs Nazem Kadri in the first round of the playoffs may have been more damaging than originally reported.
The Capitals will hold “break-down day” on Friday, where we will likely learn more about specific player injuries.
By Jon Sorensen
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