- Alex Ovechkin returned to Capitals practice Wednesday and left the ice after about 15 minutes
- Spencer Carbery called the early exit precautionary and said the lower-body issue is not serious
- Read below for what Carbery said and how it affects Washington’s final two preseason games
Alex Ovechkin made it about 15 minutes.
Washington’s captain was back on the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Wednesday morning for the first time in three days, then headed to the locker room well before practice ended. Here is RMNB from the rink:
Head coach Spencer Carbery was asked after the skate why his 41-year-old winger cut the day short.
“Didn’t quite feel right to practice today. Came out, gave it a try, but just want to be cautious with it at this point and not push it.”
Carbery does not sound worried. He pointed to the fact that Ovechkin showed up and tried at all as the encouraging part, and beat reporter Sammi Silber added that nobody around the team expects this to drag into the regular season:
The team revealed the undisclosed lower-body injury on Monday, when Ovechkin was already listed as day-to-day and in danger of missing the entire preseason. He has sat out both exhibition games so far.
Wednesday started with Ovechkin in his usual spot, on a line with Dylan Strome and Ryan Leonard. Ivan Miroshnichenko took those reps once the captain left, including the shifts on the top power-play unit.
Carbery is not reading much into that either.
“I just made that in-practice adjustment just to get three guys on the red line, but not definitively for game action. We’ll talk about that. But (Miroshnichenko is) an option.”
The Capitals get one more full practice day before hosting the Bruins at Capital One Arena on Friday night. They finish the exhibition slate in Philadelphia on Saturday.
With the exhibition slate squeezed down under the new CBA, there is a real chance Ovechkin does not play a game until Washington opens the regular season against Carolina on October 2. For a 41-year-old starting his 22nd NHL season, missing a few September reps beats limping into October.
