Washington Capitals practice special teams ahead of big intra-squad scrimmage on Friday (Photos)

July 23, 2020 5:32 pm

The Washington Capitals took the ice on Thursday ahead of what will be the team’s biggest dress rehearsal yet before they leave for its bubble in Toronto on Sunday.

There were Ovi goals, social distant cellys, and lots of special teams practice.

The Capitals first group this morning broke into two groups to do drills such as taking shots on the two goalies, Braden Holtby and Pheonix Copley.
Most of the practice, however was dedicated to working on special teams. The Capitals’ first unit featured Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, TJ Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and John Carlson while PP2 saw Lars Eller, Tom Wilson, Ilya Kovalchuk, Jakub Vrana, and Dmitry Orlov.

PP1: 8-19-77-92-74
PP2: 20-43-17-13-9
PK1: 26-62-34-3#Caps

— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) July 23, 2020

At the end of practive, the group took relay laps around the rink.

Caps end practice with relay laps around the rink, presumably for conditioning. pic.twitter.com/OailiizA2e

— RMNB (@russianmachine) July 23, 2020

Worth noting that Boyd and Siegenthaler were giving each other a “speed boost” with their sticks by pushing each other in the tush.

— RMNB (@russianmachine) July 23, 2020

The Capitals will play an intra-squad scrimmage on Friday, July 24 at 4 PM, which will be aired on the Capitals’ Twitter and Facebook platforms. Their first and only exhibition game in the bubble will be held at 4 PM against the Carolina Hurricanes on July 29. Capitals radio voice John Walton will broadcast the action alongside Capitals senior writer Mike Vogel.

According to the Capitals, Friday’s scrimmage will include a 20-minute period followed by an intermission and two 10-minute periods. If the score is tied, the game will move to a five-minute, three-on-three sudden-death overtime. If the game remains tied after overtime, a shootout will be held until a winner is determined.

The Capitals also announced that they will have a practice session on Saturday, July 25 before announcing their final roster and departing for Toronto on Sunday, July 26.

My photos from today are below.