Alex Ovechkin is built like a linebacker with the motor of a steam engine and the mentality of a wrecking ball.

He can score like no other player of this generation and few in history and has the physicality to match. That was evident from his first NHL shift when he powered up ice and crushed Columbus defenseman Radoslav Suchy so hard it knocked out the stanchion between the panes of plexiglass.

Ovechkin at 32 is no longer the human bulldozer he once was Authentic Customized Giants Jerseys , but his hard-hitting style never put a dent in his prime years as he became the fourth-fastest player to 600 goals . On Sunday in Pittsburgh, the Washington Capitals' 2004 No. 1 pick will be the first player from that draft class to play 1,000 NHL regular-season games, a testament to his durability that is also difficult to duplicate in modern hockey.

"That he has reached 1,000 games this quickly is an amazing accomplishment with the way he plays," Capitals owner Ted Leonsis said. "These are big men, and the league has gotten faster but it's also gotten much more fit, and that Alex has been able to span those generations and continue to play and be incredibly productive is really a historic feat."

In 13 seasons, Ovechkin has missed more than four games only once and never missed more than 10. Take out the eight games for suspensions and the Russian winger has only sat out for injury 21 times out of a possible 1,028.

"I heard a couple years ago that he said he's the Russian Machine," longtime teammate Nicklas Backstrom said. "That probably has something to do with it."

Ovechkin brushed off an injury in his second season with the now-famous line, "Russian machine never breaks." Ovechkin has played through knee and back pain and finished one playoff series on a fractured foot Fred Warner Jersey Elite , illustrating his pain tolerance while also avoiding the kinds of serious injuries that derail other players' careers.

Goaltender Braden Holtby pointed out that it helps Ovechkin to not kill penalties and risk injuries in those situations while also marveling at how the Moscow native is built. His 6-foot-3, 235-pound frame gives him the tools to punish opponents with his body as much as his shot.

"When you're big guy like Ovi, you're not gonna be afraid to hit no one," Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov said. "And when people gonna hit you, they're gonna feel it, for sure."

When Barry Trotz coached in Nashville, he remembered players seeing Ovechkin down the hallway cutting his stick and whispering about how big he was. Ovechkin had that intimidating presence to him.

"Trust me, we had a lot of nervous defensemen," Trotz said. "We had a couple of nervous cats."

Watching Ovechkin's sometimes reckless play could have at one point made the Capitals nervous, too, because of how valuable he is and how important it is he stay healthy. In recent years, he has toned it down with age and as hockey has gotten faster with lower priorities on hitting.

"As soon as you get a little older Andre Holmes Jersey , you realize when you have to get a hit and when you have to take a hit," Ovechkin said. "You can see right now in the playoffs it's different hockey. Of course, every shift you try to do something out there, but in the regular year you don't have to run around and hit everybody because if a game is 5-2 or 4-1 you don't have to do it. Obviously you have to play smarter and try to do different things."

Evolving his game as a scorer and a power forward has helped Ovechkin get to this point where he's on the verge of leading the league in goals for the seventh time and reach 50 for the eighth time.

If Ovechkin, who still has Stanley Cup aspirations and three years left on his contract, maintains this level of durability and wants to keep playing in North America toward age 40, reaching 1,500 games isn't out of the question.

"There are a lot of players that have played 1,000 games but not as many players have scored 600 goals," Leonsis said. "If he takes cares of himself – which he has been, he looks great – he can play a lot of years in the league."

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BOSTON — The Boston Celtics had no way of knowing how much they would get out of Kyrie Irving in the upcoming playoffs.

Now they know.

Nothing.

News broke midday Thursday that Irving will undergo another procedure on his left knee Saturday, the removal of two screws and treating of an infection that will remove him for the rest of the season.

"The hardest thing to do sometimes is accept the uncontrollable things life throws at you Derwin James Chargers Jersey ," Irving said in a statement on Instagram. "You try consistently to learn, grow, and prepare every day to equip your mind, body, and spirit with tools to deal with some of those things. …

" … This season was only a snapshot of what's to come from me. Trust Me. "The journey back to the top of Mt. Everest continues."

The Celtics host the Chicago Bulls on Friday night in what is close to a meaningless game. The Toronto Raptors have a magic number of one to clinch the best record in the Eastern Conference after beating the Celtics on Wednesday night in Toronto. The Bulls will be watching the playoffs on television.

Irving will need 4-to-5 months of recovery.

This procedure comes after a first surgery done March 24 to remove a wire from the knee.

"In this case," Irving said on Instagram, "finding out I have an infection in my knee is definitely a moment that I now accept and move past without holding on to the (sic) all the what ifs, proving the nay-Sayers (sic) completely (expletive) wrong, and accomplishing the goals I've set out for the team and myself."

The Celtics reportedly signed guard Jonathan Gibson on Thursday to fill out the roster for the final four regular-season games, but he is not likely to be eligible for the playoffs.

Irving joins Gordon Hayward and rookie Daniel Theis with season-ending injuries.

In the second spot in the conference, the Celtics, who will see the Raptors clinch with a Toronto win or Boston loss Adidas Corey Perry Jersey , will face the Miami Heat, Washington Wizards or Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. All three could be troublesome without Irving — the Bucks beat the Celtics on Tuesday night in Milwaukee.

Irving, also on Instagram, said, "Let's go Celtics!! Celtics fans, I look forward to hearing how loud it gets in the TD Garden during the playoffs and experiencing how intense the environment gets. Thank you all!"

The Bulls (27-51) have followed a seven-game losing streak with three straight wins.

"We're going out there and try to win every game," rookie Lauri Markkanen said after his 24 points helped the Bulls to a win over Charlotte on Tuesday night. "I hope we can keep this thing going."

Markkanen's comments were in response to a suggestion his team is hurting its draft position by winning these games.

They held on for the win over Charlotte with coach Fred Hoiberg sitting Markkanen and other regulars in the fourth quarter — a tanking decision that didn't work out.

"You want your guys to go out and compete at the highest level and we're doing that across the board right now," Hoiberg said. "We've got so many young guys and they're still learning their way in this league. They want to compete."

The Celtics (53-25) lost the opener of the season series with the Bulls 108-85 on Dec. 11 in Chicago but have won the last two. None of the three meetings have been decided by fewer than 16 points.

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