WASHINGTON, November 22. /TASS/. Washington Capitals captain Alexander Ovechkin will be out up to six weeks after sustaining a fracture to his left leg, the official website of the National Hockey League (NHL) said in a statement on Friday.

"Ovechkin was injured on a leg-to-leg collision with Utah Hockey Club forward Jack McBain 5:30 into the third period of Washington's 6-2 victory on Monday," the statement reads. "Alex Ovechkin will miss 4-6 weeks with a fractured left fibula."

Ovechkin was tied for the league lead in goals prior to his leg injury, netting 15 pucks in 18 games.

According to the NHL’s official statement, "The absence will be the longest of Ovechkin's career. His longest previous stretch was when he missed six games because of an upper-body injury from November 4-14, 2009."

Washington’s Head Coach Spencer Carbery also chimed in on Ovechkin’s broken leg: "It’s an unfortunate injury any time you lose your captain, any time you lose a player that is having the year he’s having and playing as well as he’s playing."

"He’s such a big part of our team, but, OK, he'll come back at some point for us. Now, we just need other guys to do more, and we’re going to need everybody, the coaches included, to do a little bit more," Carbery added.

Ovechkin Ovechkin is now the oldest players in NHL history to be the first to reach 15 goals in a season.

"He's not just limping into this record, he was dominating, and he was going for a Rocket [Richard Trophy for most goals in a season]," Colorado Avalanche NHL center Nathan MacKinnon said commenting on Ovechkin’s injury. "So, it [stinks] he's out for a few weeks, but hopefully he can get back quicker than they say and keep on chasing it."

Ovechkin is second in NHL history with 868 goals, trailing only the great one himself Wayne Gretzky of Canada, who scored 894 goals throughout his NHL career.

The 39-year-old Ovechkin is under contract with the Washington Capitals through 2026.

Ovechkin signed with the NHL’s Washington’s Capitals in 2004. The Russian player led the Caps to a Stanley Cup title in 2018, the only one of his career. In 2008, 2012 and 2014, "Ovie" won gold medals at the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) World Championships to go along with his two silver and four bronze medals at the world championships.