Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin will be sidelined for the next 7-10 days due to a nagging, undisclosed ailment, the team's website reported on Monday.
According to the report, Ovechkin will be sidelined for 'a short period of time.'
"He's been bothered by this nagging ailment for a couple of months," coach Bruce Boudreau told the website. "We just thought we'd take care of it now. His body needs a little bit of rest. We thought this was a good time to rest his body for a week to two weeks so he's fresh come April."
Capitals general manager George McPhee added:
"He just needs to take some time off to get completely healed up."
Ovechkin will miss Tuesday's game at Philadelphia as well as road games at Ottawa and Montreal on Friday and Saturday.
The all-star Russian has played in all 73 games for the Capitals this season. He has 29 goals and 77 points, on pace for his lowest point total since he entered the NHL in 2005.
