Ovechkin could play for the first time since his injury before the NHL's Christmas break

Russian forward Alexander Ovechkin, who plays for the Washington Capitals, may return to play before the Christmas break. This was reported by The New York Times on December 18.

The Russian was injured in the third period of the game against Utah on November 19. The hockey player injured his knee in a collision with the opposing team's forward Jack McBain and was forced to leave the ice. Later, the hockey player's agent Gleb Chistyakov said that the athlete feels normal, but will miss four to six weeks due to a fracture of the left fibula.

According to the source, the Russian is expected to return either on Dec. 24 in a game against the Boston Bruins or for games after the Christmas break against the Toronto Maple Leafs (Dec. 29) and Detroit Red Wings (Dec. 30).

"I wish Ovechkin to break Gretzky's record as early as this season."

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Ovechkin's injury halted his pursuit of Canadian Wayne Gretzky's record; against Utah, Ovechkin increased his regular-season goal total to 868 and cut the deficit to 26 goals.