Capitals captain and NHL goals leader Alex Ovechkin has a lower body injury and will be a game-time decision Tuesday when the Capitals face the Ottawa Senators at Verizon Center.
Ovechkin got tangled up with Rangers defenseman Dan Girardi with about 3 minutes remaining in Sunday night’s game in New York. He scored his league-leading 13th power play goal in that game, which gave him an NHL-best 35 for the season.
Ovechkin has three of the Caps’ seven goals during their five-game losing streak. He missed back-to-back games on Nov. 1 and 2 with a shoulder injury. The Caps won both of those games, a 7-0 win over Philadelphia and a 3-2 win over Florida.
If Ovechkin misses tonight’s game it will be interesting to see who takes his spot on a top line with center Nicklas Backstrom and left wing Marcus Johansson.
Eric Fehr or Troy Brouwer could get promoted, or Adam Oates could give rookie Tom Wilson a big boost of confidence with a shot on the top line.
Braden Holtby is expected to get the start against the Senators, his first since allowing five goals to the Minnesota Wild on Jan. 4. Holtby has allowed three goals on 40 shots in his last two relief appearances.
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