The Washington Capitals got the kind of update they were hoping for on Thursday: Alex Ovechkin was back as a full participant in practice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex.
Ovechkin skated on his own before the session, then joined the top line with Dylan Strome and Ryan Leonard and stayed on the ice for the entire practice. Coach Spencer Carbery called it a welcome development.
"It was a good sign," Carbery said. "He participated fully, didn't have to take any portions off, so that's good."
There’s still a chance Ovechkin could get into one of the Capitals’ final preseason games, but not both. Carbery said he’ll speak with athletic trainer Jason Serbus about the exact plan, and the options are Friday against the Boston Bruins or Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers. Washington is not treating it like a must-play situation.
"I'm not worried. He's at this point in his career that I'm pretty sure he knows what he needs to get up to speed for a season opener," Carbery said.
With Ovechkin back in the mix, the rest of the practice looked much the same as camp has for most of the preseason. Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren handled the goaltending work, while Clay Stevenson skated with Group B so the two veteran netminders could get through a full practice without rotating out.
The forward and defense pairings were set as follows:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Ryan Leonard
Alex Tuch-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Tom Wilson
Aliaksei Protas-Ilya Protas-Jordan Kyrou
Boone Jenner-Justin Sourdif-Anthony Beauvillier
Ivan Miroshnichenko-Jonny Brodzinski-Ethen Frank
Jakob Chychrun-Matt Roy
Martin Fehervary-Timothy Liljegren
Justin Holl-Dylan McIlrath
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
Washington also used the day to work on its penalty kill, with Alex Tuch and Tom Wilson, Aliaksei Protas and Anthony Beauvillier, and Justin Sourdif and Boone Jenner serving as the forward pairings.
Carbery said the timing made sense with Friday’s home game looming.
"Some of our power-play guys are on the penalty kill, so we felt like it was a good idea in camp (to) hit this right away," Carbery said, adding, "We're just trying to have all four guys get on the same page as quickly as we possibly can."
Friday is expected to serve as a dress rehearsal for the Capitals’ NHL roster. Logan Thompson will play the full game, and then Washington will decide whether Charlie Lindgren or Clay Stevenson splits Saturday’s game, or whether one of them takes the whole outing.
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