ARLINGTON, Va. — Alex Ovechkin will be away from the Washington Capitals to attend to a family matter and the health of a loved one and is expected to be gone for at least the rest of the week, if not longer.

General Manager Brian MacLellan announced Ovechkin’s absence before the team’s morning skate Tuesday. No further details were released, though it appears Washington is preparing to be without its longtime captain and face of the franchise for an extended period.

Coach Peter Laviolette said he doesn’t envision Ovechkin will be back “in the foreseeable future.”

“When it comes to your family and parents, that’s what matters,” Laviolette said. “He’s going to deal with some things right now and we’re going to be supportive.”

Further complicating matters if Ovechkin needs to go home to Russia, where his parents and other family members live, are travel restrictions in place amid the country’s war in Ukraine. There are no direct flights between North America and Moscow.

The Capitals play two home games this week before facing the Carolina Hurricanes in the NHL’s Stadium Series outdoors in Raleigh on Saturday night.

“Sending positive thoughts on behalf of the organization,” the Hurricanes posted on Twitter before the team played at the Capitals on Tuesday night. “There is nothing more important than those we love. We are wishing the best for Alex and his family.”

Ovechkin, 37, leads Washington with 32 goals and 54 points. He has missed only 48 games throughout his 18-year NHL career, and the Capitals have lost 25 of them.

“We’ve been playing without key guys all season and last year and the year before. We’re going to miss him,” center Lars Eller said. “We’re a better team when he’s in our lineup, but other guys will have to fill the gap in the meantime and we can do that.”

The Capitals have been playing without top defenseman John Carlson since he took a puck to the head on Dec. 23. Also missing are first-line right winger Tom Wilson, fourth-line center Nic Dowd and now Ovechkin, so the team recalled winger Joe Snively from Hershey of the American Hockey League.

In all aspects of the game, Washington looks different without Ovechkin, who is the league’s career leader in power-play goals thanks to his signature spot in the left circle.

“Obviously teams are used to seeing (Ovechkin in) his office, so we all know what he’s capable of there, how he can score from there,” longtime teammate Nicklas Backstrom said. “Definitely going to miss him, but at the same time we have to find other ways to create chances and try to capitalize there.”

The Capitals enter an important stretch in a precarious position: holding on to one of two wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference and in danger of falling out of playoff position by the end of the week. Even before Ovechkin’s absence, they have averaged 2.27 goals over their past 14 games.

“You’ve got to score goals to win games,” Backstrom said. “You’re not going to win games with just one goal. I think we got to be a little more urgent out there we got to be a little more hungrier around the net.”

Ovechkin met with teammates Tuesday before leaving the Capitals’ practice facility. That gave players a chance to offer their support before preparing to take the ice without him.

“It’s nice to get to see him and give him a hug and let him know that we’re here for him in person rather than over text,” winger T.J. Oshie said. “We’re thinking about him and we’re missing him and wishing him all the best.”

TUESDAY’S GAMES

HURRICANES 3, CAPITALS 2: Brent Burns scored his 11th goal of the season, Frederik Andersen made 34 saves and Carolina won at Washington, D.C.

Washington has lost two in a row since beating the league-leading Boston Bruins on Saturday.

CANADIENS 4, BLACKHAWKS 0: Montreal scored three goals in the third period to beat visiting Chicago.

Joel Armia scored one goal and added an assist, and Jonathan Drouin collected three assists. Justin Barron, David Savard and Christian Dvorak also scored as the Canadiens won a third straight game since returning from the NHL All-Star break.

Jake Allen made 22 saves to bank his first shutout of the season.

Jaxson Stauber made 27 saves as Chicago started a four-game Canadian trip with back-to-back losses.

DEVILS 3, BLUE JACKETS 2: Ryan Graves scored off a feed from Michael McLeod in front of the net with 1.4 seconds left, and New Jersey won at Columbus, Ohio, for its fourth win in five games.

Yegor Sharangovich and Jesper Bratt had the other goals for the Devils, and Graves also had an assist. Vitek Vanecek stopped 31 shots for New Jersey, which remains three points behind first-place Carolina and moved five ahead of the New York Rangers in the Metropolitan Division.

SENATORS 3, ISLANDERS 2: Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson each scored in the shootout and Ottawa won at New York.

Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk each had a goal and an assist in regulation. Kevin Mandolese finished with 46 saves and the Senators won their sixth game in seven outings.

Mandolese denied Bo Horvat’s and Kyle Palmieri’s attempts and he collected his first career win in his NHL debut.

Ryan Pulock and Brock Nelson scored for New York. Ilya Sorokin made 32 saves and New York fell for the third consecutive game.

BLUES 6, PANTHERS 2: Brayden Schenn scored twice and Jordan Binnington made 34 saves to lead St. Louis over visiting Florida.

Ryan O’Reilly, Jordan Kyrou, Ivan Barbashev and Nick Leddy also scored for the Blues, who won their second in a row following a five-game losing streak.

Carter Verhaeghe and Eetu Luostarinen scored for Florida, which had won 4 of 5.

JETS 3, KRAKEN 2: Mark Scheifele and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored in the shootout to give Winnipeg a come-from-behind victory over visiting Seattle.

The Jets were the only NHL team that hadn’t played in the shootout. They’re now 8-1 past regulation.

Blake Wheeler and Dubois scored for the Jets, who have won three in a row. David Rittich made 27 saves.

John Hayden and Jared McCann scored for the Kraken, who ended a five-game trip going 1-3-1. Philipp Grubauer stopped 38 shots.

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