WASHINGTON (Reuters) - High-scoring Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals has suffered an upper-body strain and his status is "week-to-week," the team said on Monday.

The two-time reigning most valuable player suffered the injury during Washington's 5-4 overtime loss to Columbus on Sunday.

Ovechkin played about eight minutes and was held without a point for just the third time this year. He was diagnosed after undergoing an MRI exam on Monday.

"We have to buckle down," head coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters Monday. "A goal a game he scores, so we've got to play better defense and cannot allow four or five goals a game.

"You have to win 3-1 and 2-1 and if you get lucky sometimes make it a 4-2 game. I think we have enough character players who understand what we will have to do without Alex."

Ovechkin, the NHL's leading scorer, will miss the fifth game of his five-year career on Wednesday at New Jersey.

(Reporting by Steve Ginsburg in Philadelphia; Editing by Alastair Himmer)