Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin is about to enter his 20th season in the NHL and is on the verge of making history. The Russian superstar is going into the 2024-25 season within striking distance of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record.

Ovechkin is not only known as one of the game’s greatest scorers but he’s also made a name for himself as one of the sturdiest and most reliable players ever. It’s extremely rare that Ovechkin deals with injuries or has to miss time.

According to a report from MatchTV on sports.ru, Ovechkin is currently dealing with a knee injury that prevented him from attending the final game of a Russian hockey icon.

Sergei Mozyakin was playing a farewell match in Magnitogorsk, Russia, and Ovechkin was forced to miss the event.

Ovechkin is not far removed from taking the ice himself as part of the NHL vs. KHL Game of the Year charity event. Russian stars for the NHL faced off against some of the best in the KHL. The game ended in an 8-8 tie, and Ovechkin scored a goal.

According to the report, Ovechkin’s knee injury isn’t anything to worry about, and the recovery shouldn’t take much time.

“This injury is not too serious and did not prevent Ovechkin from playing in the Game of the Year a week ago,” a source told Match TV. “But now Alexander has decided to take care of himself so that he can begin full training in 10 days,”

There appears to be no threat of Ovechkin missing games early in the 2024-25 season, but this should be something to keep an eye on moving forward. Ovechkin dealt with a lower-body injury last season, but it’s unclear if this knee injury is related.

Heading into the final two years of his NHL contract, Ovechkin needs just 42 goals to pass Gretzky as the NHL’s all-time leader in that category.