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Tuesday Caps Clips: All Ovechkin, All the Time

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[In today’s edition of Sport-Express, Slava Malamud catches up with Alex Ovechkin to see if he can get some insight into his injury. There are no earth-shattering revelations, except that maybe the entire Russian Olympic team has been jinxed.]

Sounding the alarm isn’t really included among the duties of a sports reporter, but since we aren’t afraid to jinx things with praise, well…. basically, at the rate they are going Russia will need to send to Vancouver an Olympic team made up of some KHL clubs, a medical team from a medium-sized hospital and a shaman from the Republic of Sakha. (come on, I know you meant a Tuvan shaman, Slava- TH). I can only call the adversity inflicted upon the potential Olympians as nothing else but unprecedented.

It hasn’t even been a month since the start of the NHL regular season and injuries have already claimed Andrei Markov (torn tendon- out for several months), Sergei Gonchar (wrist- out at least until December), Ilya Kovalchuk (broken bone in foot, not expected to return before the end of November), and Evgeni Malkin (sprained shoulder- out two to three weeks). Such trifles as Alexander Semin‘s illness (exactly what it was they will not say, but it is well-known that the team did have a case of the swine flu), which caused him to sit out a couple of games, are not even worth mentioning.

And now, during a Sunday game in the U.S. Capital, that very thing which the Russians have had enough of happened again. It is difficult to say exactly when it happened. Perhaps at the beginning of the second period, when Ovechkin skated by Jason Chimera and the latter nudged the former with his shoulder. Apparently that was in retaliation for when the Russian boarded the Canadian forward during the first period. Ovechkin shoved Chimera with his hands, a scuffle ensued, during which Alexander was grabbed and dragged, and finally he went to the penalty box, lightly supporting his left arm. Coming out on the ice, he collided in the offensive zone with Raffi Torres, fell to the ice and grimaced in pain and immediately came off the ice and went to the locker room. He missed the rest of the game.

If you assess the situation solely on appearances, you could assume that Alexander injured his left arm or shoulder. After the game he talked a bit with the press and gave an interview to Sport Express.

Alexander, what happened? Were you injured by Chimera, Torres or somebody else?

“I can’t say. I can’t even discuss the exact moment in order to not divulge what exactly my injury is.”

Then can you at least give the official version-is it upper or lower body?

“Upper body.”

How serious does it feel?

“I don’t know, but I would say that it is “day-to-day”. I’m going in for some tests tomorrow and then everything will be clear.”

What’s happening to all the Olympic team players? You guys are just having some bad luck.

“I can’t understand it myself. Perhaps some girl has put a hex on us.”

Yesterday afternoon Moscow time Ovechkin underwent testing, after which he confirmed to your Sport Express reporter that his injury is not very serious.

“They’ll give a more exact diagnosis later” said Alexander “but the doctors said that there is no serious damage.”

Can you give some estimation of when you might return?

“It’s 100 percent that I’ll miss the next game, and then we’ll see.”

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