Hart Trophy-winner Ovechkin says broken left foot is healing well

WASHINGTON - Alex Ovechkin said his broken left foot is healing well after playing almost three full games on it last month.

The Washington Capitals captain, who won his third Hart Trophy as the NHL's MVP, suffered a hairline fracture in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference quarter-finals against the New York Rangers. He did not miss any time, playing in Game 7 the next night and then at the IIHF world championship days later.

Ovechkin kept playing because he could not make the injury worse. He knew something was wrong but said Sunday morning on a conference call that he did not have an MRI until after playing for Russia in Stockholm.

Ovechkin played all 48 regular-season and seven playoff games for the Capitals, even though general manager George McPhee said he was playing through some other injuries. Ovechkin said he wasn't dealing with anything major.

The broken foot was never considered something that would keep him off the ice for training camp. That's even less of a concern a month after the injury, as Ovechkin said he'll be playing tennis soon.

Neither Ovechkin nor McPhee revealed what injuries the 27-year-old right wing was playing through.