I don't think anyone who's played a high intensity contact sport or had an injury like that would call it an "excuse". Especially since he didn't even tell anyone until after the playoffs were over.
They're all injured. Crosby, a player with a concussion history, missed 1 game and contributed in Game 7.
Where are we going with this information?
Ovechkin as team leader has presided over 10 years of playoff runs and never advanced past the 2nd round.
I get it, it's a team sport, but at a certain point you've just got to call a spade a spade.