WASHINGTON -- Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin will not play against the Minnesota Wild at Verizon Center on Thursday, because of a lower-body injury.

Ovechkin, who has not missed a game this season, leads the NHL with 43 goals, including 16 in 19 games since the All-Star break. The Capitals are 13-10-2 during his 10-year career when Ovechkin is not in the lineup.

Forward Andre Burakovsky, recalled from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis Thursday, will skate in Ovechkin's customary left wing spot on Washington's first line with Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson.