Ovechkin finished the playoffs with a lower-body injury
Russian hockey officials announced Thursday that Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin played through injury before his team was eliminated from the NHL playoffs in the second round by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Ovechkin finished the playoffs dealing with a lower-body injury that required pain-numbing injections, the Russian Hockey Federation said, adding that Ovechkin will not be able to play for his country at the world championship in Europe because of it. A person with direct knowledge of the situation confirmed the injury and treatment to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the team hadn’t announced it.
Ovechkin never let on that he was playing hurt. He had five goals and three assists in 13 playoff games as the Capitals flamed out again, eliminated in seven games by the defending champion Penguins.
Russian officials also said Capitals centre Evgeny Kuznetsov and defenceman Dmitry Orlov would play at the world hockey championship, already underway in Paris and Cologne, Germany. Kuznetsov and Orlov are restricted free agents who need NHL contracts for next season.
SENATORS GIVEN LONGEST ODDS FOR CUP VICTORY
No question: the Ottawa Senators are underdogs. According to betting website Bodog, their odds of winning the Stanley Cup are 11-2, worst of the four remaining teams in the NHL playoffs.
Pittsburgh has 8-5 odds, followed by the Anaheim Ducks and Nashville Predators at 11-4.
But the Senators may find some billboard-type material from an unlikely place — Washington.
In his lament about the Capitals losing yet again to Pittsburgh, Washington Post columnist Thomas Boswell didn’t think much of the Senators.
“As an extra penalty,” Boswell wrote in Wednesday’s edition of the Post, “the Caps get to gaze at the highway strewn with rose petals that the Penguins now have ahead of them for consecutive Cups.”
SABRES HIRE PENGUINS’ BOTTERILL AS GM
Jason Botterill is leaving the Pittsburgh Penguins’ bid to defend their Stanley Cup title for an opportunity to build the Buffalo Sabres into contenders as general manager. The Sabres hired the Penguins’ associate GM on Thursday to lead a franchise that owner Terry Pegula criticized for lacking structure and discipline.
Botterill takes over three weeks after Tim Murray was fired. His first priority will be hiring a head coach to replace Dan Bylsma, who was also sacked in the Sabres’ second front-office housecleaning in three and a half years.
BLACKHAWKS RE-SIGN FORWARD PANIK
The Chicago Blackhawks rewarded Richard Panik for a breakout season, re-signing him to a two-year deal that runs through 2018-19.
The 26-year-old set career highs with 22 goals, 22 assists and 44 points in his first full season in Chicago. Panik showed he could play on the top line and scored 18 even-strength goals, fourth on the team. General manager Stan Bowman applauded the Slovak forward’s consistency throughout the season.