Ovechkin fractured his left fibula in the middle of November after colliding with Utah's Jack McBain, but he will finally return to the ice just under six weeks later.
"I just want to come back and play hockey," Ovechkin said. "It was a hard month, work out, watch the games and you always want to help your teammates to win and now it's my time.
"Spending lots of time in the gym, bikes. All the staff have done a great job helping me recover. It was hard but thanks to my family for the support.
"The boys did a great job without me. I don't know, they're playing well right now so I don't know what kind of game I'm going to represent right now. Practice is one thing, but in the games it's a different speed, a different intensity so you just have to be smart and play the right way."
The Washington captain will now have his eyes firmly set on Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goal record. After scoring 15 goals this season, Ovechkin moved to 868 overall, sitting just 27 behind the legendary Gretzky.
Capitals defenceman John Carlson was delighted to see Ovechkin return.
"You can’t replace him. You can’t replace his personality, you can’t replace his presence, all that stuff. His on-ice abilities, his scoring, there’s no one like him. I’ve played with a lot of guys. There’s not one person like him,” he said.
The Capitals are second in the Metropolitan Division with a 23-9-2 record.
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