Ovechkin Out For Capitals vs. Rangers, Dealing With Ongoing Injury

The Capitals will be without their captain against the Rangers on Saturday.

WASHINGTON — The Washington Capitals will be without a key piece of the puzzle against the New York Rangers on Saturday, as Alex Ovechkin will sit out as he deals with a lower-body injury.

Ovechkin is not taking warmups for Washington and will be a scratch. It will be the first game that he has missed this season.

The 38-year-old was hurt after colliding with Jordan Staal late in the third period against the Carolina Hurricanes on Jan. 5, and he has missed four of the last five practices since then due to maintenance and health concerns. Ovechkin was also listed as a game-time decision back on Sunday and Thursday, but he ended up playing.

With Ovechkin out, Hendrix Lapierre will remain in the lineup, with Max Pacioretty moving back to the left side.

Tom Wilson, meanwhile, is back in for the Capitals as he recovers from a broken nose. That injury held him out of the lineup back on Thursday against the Seattle Kraken.

Wilson broke his nose back on Sunday against the Los Angeles Kings after colliding with Alex Laferriere and taking the butt-end of his stick to the face. He has been in a nose splint and full face shield since then, and the "fishbowl" will likely stick around as his nose heals.

Sonny Milano and Rasmus Sandin also remain out for Washington with upper-body injuries. Charlie Lindgren will start.

Here are the lines:

Max Pacioretty-Dylan Strome-T.J. Oshie

Aliaksei Protas-Connor McMichael-Tom Wilson

Hendrix Lapierre-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Anthony Mantha

Beck Malenstyn-Nic Dowd-Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Martin Fehervary-John Carlson

Ethan Bear-Nick Jensen

Joel Edmundson-Trevor van Riemsdyk

Charlie Lindgren

Darcy Kuemper

Being without Ovechkin will be tough for the Capitals, who are struggling to score at 5-on-5 and dealing with other ailments up front. The captain is on a six-game point streak for D.C., which averages the third-least goals per game (2.36) league-wide.