Alex Ovechkin's return to Capitals' lineup cut short originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Alex Ovechkin's return to the lineup on Monday was short-lived as he left for the locker room after just his first shift and has now been declared out for the remainder of the game, according to the Capitals.
A lower-body injury has kept Ovechkin out of the lineup for the last four games. He took one shift against the New York Rangers lasting 39 seconds. Towards the end of the shift, his skating looked awkward and he grimaced as he made his way to the bench. He soon went down the tunnel behind the Washington bench and did not return.
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With Ovechkin out, the Caps are now down two forwards on the night as Peter Laviolette dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen due to the absences of T.J. Oshie (personal) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (disciplinary).
After struggling in his return, the top focus for Ovechkin and the Caps will be to get healthy before the playoffs. After Monday, the team has four regular season games remaining, the last of which will be on May 11 against the Boston Bruins. That's a little over a week for Ovechkin to recover before the playoffs should he need it.
