Alex Ovechkin's pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's record is still on pause, as the Washington Capitals star forward continues to work his way back from a fractured left fibula injury.

The three-time Hart Memorial Trophy winner has missed five games since suffering the injury in a game againt the Utah Hockey Club on the road on Nov. 18. But just two weeks later, Ovechkin appears to be already seeing some ice time, per a video posted by Caps insider Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network.

The 39-year-old Ovechkin was initially given a timeline of four to six weeks before a potential return to active duty. Following that timeline, Ovechkin could come back to action as soon as the Capitals' home game against the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 14 or in the road game against the Dallas Stars on Dec. 16. Washington also has back-to-back road games versus the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Detroit Red Wings on Dec. 28 and Dec. 29, respectively, which would fall right around the six-week timeline. The Caps also have a date with the Boston Bruins on Dec. 31 at Capital One Arena in Washington.

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If Ovechkin still can't give it a go by that time, his next chance of playing will be after the calendar flips to 2026, with Washington kicking off its scheduled for that year on Jan. 2 at home against the Minnesota Wild.

Despite missing Ovechkin, the Capitals have done a great job of keeping their heads above water. Since Ovechkin suffered the injury, the Caps have gone 4-2-0 with 23 goals scored against 23 allowed. Moreover, Washington is on a four-game win streak heading into Tuesday's meeting with the San Jose Sharks at home.

So far in the 2024-25 NHL regular season, Ovechkin has 15 goals and 10 assists through 18 games played. He is only 26 goals away from tying Gretzky's all-time NHL record for goals scored (894) and 27 more to break the “Great One's” mark.

While Ovi is out, the likes of Connor McMichael, Dylan Strome, Tom Wolson, Aliaksei Protas, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Taylor Raddysh are doing a solid job of collectively keeping Washington's offense humming. McMichael and Strome have combined for eight goals and 12 assists in the last 10 Washington games while Wilson and Protas have three goals each over the same stretch.