Ovechkin won't return before holiday break

Alex Ovechkin has been cleared to resume full contact in practice, but the 39-year-old won't return to the Washington Capitals' lineup before the holiday break begins.

"We won't see him before the break, so the target will become some time after the break," coach Spencer Carbery said Friday, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti.

"Whether it's that first game (is uncertain), but we won't see him in these next three."

The Capitals' first game after the holiday break will be against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 28.

Ovechkin has missed 13 games since he sustained a left fibula fracture in a collision with Utah Hockey Club's Jack McBain on Nov. 18. He led the league with 15 goals in 18 games before sustaining the injury.

The future Hall of Famer needs 27 goals to break Wayne Gretzky's NHL record of 894.