Caps lose Ovechkin, game

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By Corey Masisak

The main early-season problems - discipline and blown third-period leads - were back Sunday for the Washington Capitals, but a more pressing issue was their hurting superstar.

R.J. Umberger finished off a wild 5-4 victory for the Columbus Blue Jackets at Verizon Center by scoring on a power play in overtime to end a game in which Alex Ovechkin left in the second period and did not return.

Ovechkin left with what appeared to be an arm/shoulder/chest injury in the second period. Officially, the team is calling it an upper-body injury, and he is day-to-day.

"You can say, 'Woe is me, and our best player is out,' or you can say, 'Pull together and get the job done,' " Brooks Laich said. "I thought our guys did a good job. Some guys stepped up and played more minutes than they were accustomed to, and it was just unfortunate we didn't get the result."

Ovechkin leveled Jason Chimera with a hit in the first period, and then Chimera bumped Ovechkin as he skated past the Blue Jackets' bench early in the second. Ovechkin stopped and gave Chimera a two-handed shove, and then chaos ensued with all 10 skaters on the ice involved in the scrum.

Chimera and Ovechkin earned roughing penalties at 1:11, while Jared Boll was tagged with a roughing minor and a 10-minute misconduct.

"It was just a moment of the game," Ovechkin said. "Nothing happened. He just hit me. I hit him. There was a little battle there. Nothing happened."

Added Caps center Brendan Morrison: "Initially, I think [Ovechkin] was going for a change. Then there was a hit and a push and a big scrum. I really didn't see anything. I think [Chimera] just bumped him coming off the ice, just trying to stir the pot more than anything."

The two-time MVP left the scrum favoring his left arm/shoulder and continued to try to rotate it in the penalty box. During Ovechkin's next shift, he collided with Raffi Torres and put his left arm out to brace for the fall. Ovechkin immediately winced in pain and left the ice with 13:50 left in the period.