Struggling Ovechkin says injury bothering him since All-Star break

Some were skeptical about the lower-body injury that forced Alex Ovechkin to drop out of January's All-Star festivities in Nashville, but it turns out the issue is still bothering the Washington Capitals captain.

"It still bothers me," Ovechkin said, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post. "But of course when we have that kind of schedule, it lets you know right away that it bothers you, that it's sore."

The league's leading goal-scorer has struggled of late, failing to find the back of the net during the team's recently completed four-game road trip. He has just one goal in his past eight outings, a stretch where his team has gone 4-3-1.

"If he said it, I have to believe him," coach Barry Trotz said of Ovechkin's injury, adding that the Russian faced a lot of tough matchups over the road trip, but should expect more of the same over the team's final 14 games, and into the postseason.

"For me, in the playoffs, a lot of the times, the top lines get matched up," Trotz said. "If they match up well, they probably neutralize each other, then it's just the depth of your roster sort of takes over. If you can have your top lines dominate the other top lines, you guarantee yourself a win almost all of the time."

The Capitals will return home to host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday.