The Washington Capitals opened their practice facility up for small group workouts on Thursday for the first time since the NHL instituted Phase 2 of its return to play plan Monday.
1,046 miles south, in Pembroke Pines, Florida, the team’s captain, Alex Ovechkin, skated with a group of 17 players, including former and current Russian NHLers, at Pines Ice Arena.
The ice skating rink is close to Ovechkin’s beach home near Miami, Florida.
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Dmitrij Mecajev, of Icon Suit, posted videos of Ovechkin and the others players practicing.
Joining Ovechkin out on the ice included Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin, Panthers forward Evgenii Dadonov, Jets defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov, retired Penguins defenseman Darius Kasparaitis, Finnish Liiga defenseman Vladimir Denisov, and former Ducks/Senators forward Peter Schastlivy.
The skate did not appear to have any affiliation with an NHL club.
University of Miami hockey player, Drew Cohen, took a group photo with the players and apologized to Ovechkin “for all the bad passes.”
Since late April, Ovechkin has been down in Miami for the birth of his second son, Ilya, who arrived on May 27.
Ovechkin has been skating at Pines Ice Arena for a while now. In the past, he’s skated at the IceDen, the Panthers’ practice facility.
Headline photo courtesy of @drew_snipes
