Most NHL players have not been on the ice since the NHL suspended the 2019-20 season on March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic – a period of nine weeks. “My game’s probably going to look terrible,” Patrik Laine said Friday.

That made us wonder: how will the Washington Capitals look on their first day back on the job?

Here’s a visual approximation.

Video

The viral video features a youth hockey team, the Bedford Blues, slipping and flopping onto the ice for nearly 40 seconds. They’re all seven or eight-years-old. The video was filmed by assistant coach Jesse Rodgers before a game against the South Shore Lumberjacks in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. Rodgers’ eight-year-old son played on the team.

The day before, Bedford Blues’ players were helped onto the ice by their coaches, but another team, more familiar with the rink, didn’t need help from adults.

“On Saturday, they wanted to do it too. They were all excited,” Rodgers said to the National Post, noting the step was waist-high for some players. “They were just having fun. It’s a big jump.”

So is first getting back on the ice after a three or four month break without hockey.

Friday night, the NHLPA approved the 24-team playoff plan that could lead to the resumption and completion of the 2019-20 season.

If that ends up happening, good luck on your first day back, Caps! Be safe and remember, ice is slippery.

S/T to Sauce Toss for the idea and Victoria N. for first sharing.

Screenshot courtesy of Jesse Rodgers