The Washington Capitals announced on Wednesday forward Alex Ovechkin won’t be able to attend the All-Star Weekend due to a positive COVID test. He’ll also miss the game against the Edmonton Oilers.
Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is unavailable tonight versus the Edmonton Oilers due to the NHL COVID-19 protocol. Based on a positive test result, Ovechkin will not participate in the 2022 NHL All-Star Game in Las Vegas.
— Capitals PR (@CapitalsPR) February 2, 2022
Alex Ovechkin Covid Positive Test Keeps Him From All-Star Game
Ovechkin was voted as the Metropolitan Division captain after opting out of the 2019 and 2020 All-Star Games This year, the team guaranteed he’d like to go and asked fans to vote for him. Unfortunately for everyone, the Russian player won’t attend anymore.
The Capitals captain appeared in seven All-Star games throughout his career up until 2018. There was no game in 2021 but this year fans were optimistic about seeing him back. The news was received with a lot of jokes due to the past couple of years. However, according to the team, Ovechkin tested positive for COVID on Wednesday and will miss the matchup against the Oilers.
The 34-year-old is ranked third in goals and fifth in points among all skaters. He leads the Capitals with 29 goals and 58 points in 46 games. Throughout his 17-year NHL career, Ovechkin has 759 goals and 1,378 points in 1,243 regular-season games. He ranks fourth in all-time goals scored, being only 135 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky‘s record.
What This Means For The Capitals
Ovechkin having Covid is obviously awful. However, if everything goes smoothly, the Capitals won’t be without their captain for too long. Yes, he’ll miss Wednesday’s matchup against the Oilers. But after that, the Caps only go back to playing on February 8th. That’s almost a week away. According to the new NHL protocols, Ovechkin will only have to remain in the protocol for five days since testing positive, as he is fully vaccinated. That is, of course, if he doesn’t experience any symptoms. With that, the player might only miss one game while on protocol.
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