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First, Alex Ovechkin was day-to-day. Then he was week-to-week. Now the latest, courtesy of coach Bruce Boudreau: "Hopefully it's no more than two weeks."

The league's two-time reigning MVP has the most serious injury of his NHL career, a "upper-body strain" that could test just how good the Washington Capitals can be this season. Ovechkin did not practice Tuesday, but he spoke to reporters in the locker room. He wore a T-shirt and gym shorts without a visible sign of a bandage or brace — nothing to indicate which body part is ailing.

In hockey, secrecy is the norm when it comes to injuries, especially when the patient is one of the world's greatest players.

"Sometimes, players have injuries," he said. "Every player gets hurt. I'm lucky I don't have nothing broken. It's just ..."

· Final papers have been signed closing the sale of the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes to the NHL. Notification of the closure was filed yesterday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Attorneys signed final papers Monday, and $13.3 million was transferred into an account that will hold the money until dispersal is determined. In all, the NHL paid about $140 million for the team.

· The provincial health minister wants to know if swine flu shots were "inappropriately diverted" to the Calgary Flames while thousands had to stand in line for hours for the vaccine. Alberta Health Minister Ron Liepert says he doesn't know where the NHL team got the vaccine, adding that Alberta Health Services is the only supplier in the province. Team president Ken King says the club contacted the department and asked for the clinic.

· The Phoenix Coyotes recalled forward Mikkel Boedker from their AHL affiliate in San Antonio. The 19-year-old was sent to San Antonio on Oct. 14 after he went pointless in five games for the Coyotes.

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