Mikhail Sergachev once blocked an Alex Ovechkin slap shot and has had to wear a special elbow pad since

"“Three years ago, I cracked my elbow because of his slap shot,” Sergachev told Rabiner, as translated via Google Translate. “I've been wearing a special pad ever since. We were losing 5-1 or 6-1, and as a young guy, I was sent out on the right side of the ice, playing behind Sasha. I got caught in his shot - my elbow got huge. They x-rayed it and found [there] was a crack.”"

"The play Sergachev references occurred late in a November 11, 2022, game between Ovechkin's Washington Capitals and Sergachev's Tampa Bay Lightning. With the Caps coasting to a 5-1 victory, they were put on a third-period power play, and Ovechkin fired away at will, injuring Sergachev and his Lightning teammate, Erik Cernak, on the same shift."

"Ovechkin first volleyed a missile off Cernak's ankle, which went out of play and took the big Slovak out of the game. On the ensuing faceoff, he then cannoned another shot, this time taking a bite of Sergachev's elbow."

"Sergachev returned to Tampa Bay's bench and missed the remaining four minutes in regulation. Ovechkin would add insult to literal injury, assisting on a Sonny Milano goal just 1:45 later. “One of the things, you know it's coming,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said then. “It takes guts to stand in front of those. When you take 12 minutes in penalties, you're bound to eat one of those.”"

Alex Ovechkin’s powerful one-timer has made him the NHL’s all-time leading goal scorer across a 21-season career. The shot has repeatedly dented the net and also injured defenders attempting to block it. Mikhail Sergachev described cracking his elbow three years earlier after being caught by Ovechkin’s slap shot. He has worn a special pad since the injury. The incident occurred during a November 11, 2022 game between the Washington Capitals and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Ovechkin injured Erik Cernak on one shot and then struck Sergachev’s elbow on the next sequence. Sergachev returned to the bench but missed the rest of the period, while Ovechkin later assisted on a goal.

Read at RMNB