Can the Caps Surive Without Hurricane Ovechkin?

Hurricane Ida, the first Atlantic hurricane to target the United States this year, plodded Sunday toward the Gulf Coast with 100 mph winds, bringing the threat of flooding and storm surges.

But what Washington sports fan gives about a hurricane that will only kill people in Louisiana? The real hurricane that threatens all Caps fan in Washington is Ovechkin's upper-body injury that has caused the Caps to be without their best player for an undetermined amount of time. 

In last week's overtime loss to Columbus, Alexander the Great strained some part of his upper-body. The exact part was not released by the club for fear that other teams might capitalize off of Alex's injury once he steps back on the ice.

On the surface, his injury doesn't look too detrimental for the Caps; but look again. Say Oveckin misses two weeks? That doesn't seem bad right? Well that's six whole games. Six games that can end up deciding if the Caps win the southeast division title. Six games can translate to 12 points or at least 6.

While Ovie has been injured the Caps are 2-2, a fair record. They have also received offensive support from some unlikely sources such as Sloan, Morrison, Pothier.

The Caps need the extra help since the league's top-scorer and two-time MVP has been seated on the sidelines. As Ovechkin munches away on popcorn upstairs seated next to Ted, the positive outcome has been the mindset of all the players.

The Caps are starting to play as if they have an Achilles heal and need to work twice as hard to win each game. (Maybe Bruce's suicides are working!) And Theodore has been a lot stronger ever since returning to the ice from his own injury.

It still remains to be seen if the Caps can survive the long season without their Russian friend, but for now the Caps need to play as hard as if Ovie isn't coming back to the ice for a while longer.