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Washington • Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin returned for the second period of Game 5 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night after an apparent leg injury late in the first.
Ovechkin drew a roar from the crowd as he stepped on to the ice after the first intermission and hit Jake Gardiner on his first shift back.
Washington's 31-year-old captain was injured at 17:32 of the first period when Nazem Kadri's attempted hip check appeared to make contact with his left leg. Ovechkin clutched at his left knee as he was down on the ice and didn't put any weight on his left leg as he was helped off by Nicklas Backstrom and Nate Schmidt to chants of, "Ovi! Ovi!"
Ovechkin limped down the tunnel to the locker room. Kadri was given a two-minute minor penalty for tripping.
T.J. Oshie scored on the Capitals' ensuing power play for a 1-0 lead.
Ovechkin had three goals through the first four games of the first-round series.