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Ovechkin leaves practice after eight minutes (Updated)

Alex Ovechkin

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebrates after scoring the third goal against the Montreal Canadiens during second-period NHL hockey game action on Wednesday, Jan.18, 2012, in Montreal. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)

AP

Concerning news for Caps fans who don’t need to be any more concerned – Alex Ovechkin left practice this morning in Ottawa after eight minutes with a possible injury. His status for tonight’s game against the Senators is unknown.

Via the Washington Post:

While he was on the ice, Ovechkin appeared to be testing something out. Just before he went back down the tunnel he tried to gather speed and explode through the neutral zone but after a few strides had to pull up. He skated over to the bench immediately and left the ice.

… Ovechkin was seen limping after Monday’s 5-0 loss to Carolina and may have suffered an injury in that contest during which he only played 15 minutes 43 seconds. The team attributed his limited ice time to an equipment problem and has not officially acknowledged that Ovechkin is injured.

Yesterday Ovechkin took a “maintenance day,” another clue he may be hurting.

The Capitals are already without top center Nicklas Backstrom (concussion), and though it’s hard to believe Ovechkin is seriously injured, if he’s hurt at all, tonight is a big game against one of the teams Washington is hoping to chase down for a playoff spot. An outright Ottawa win and the Sens would move nine points up on the Caps.

Update (12:54 p.m. ET):

Ovechkin’s got an upper-body injury and will be a game-time decision.

“I don’t feel pretty good right now, we’ll see how it goes before the game,” he said.