Alex Ovechkin Says Hamstring, Knee Injuries Were Not Tears, Won't Need Surgery

Washington Capitals star forward Alex Ovechkin confirmed Friday he won't need offseason surgery after battling through hamstring and knee injuries during the 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs.Ovechkin said he tried to fight through the pain to help the Caps advance, per ESPN.com. The team's run ended with a loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday night."You don't want to play with any sort of injury, obviously," he said. "Of course, you don't feel 100 percent, you don't [have] strength in your leg, but you play through that, you know' Some players play with broken hand, broken leg, and you know, because it's the playoffs. You have to sacrifice your body to get success and get the result."The 31-year-old Russian winger wasn't his usually dynamic self during the Capitals' playoff run. He tallied just eight points (five goals and three assists) across 13 games and was demoted to the third line late in the Penguins series.On Friday, RMNB provided a photo from Nastya Ovechkina, the NHL player's wife, showing how bad his leg looked after the season-ending loss:Ovechkin scored 33 goals and tallied 36 assists during the regular season. He's scored at least 65 points in every season with the exception of the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign during his 12-year career.Although the injuries prevented the three-time MVP from traveling to Europe to represent Russia in the 2017 IIHF World Championship this month, all signs point to a full recovery before the start of next season."I still have three months until training camp," Ovechkin said, per ESPN.com. "Come back here healthy and strong and back on track."The Great Eight is under contract with the Capitals through the 2020-21 season.
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