After missing the Capitals’ last two skates due to injury, Alex Ovechkin returned to the ice on Friday and fully participated in practice.
According to The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir, Ovechkin came out early before practice started to warm up. He then stayed on the ice for drills and line rushes.
Alex Ovechkin (upper body) is going to give it a go again today. He’s on the ice 15 minutes before the start of practice warming up and stretching. #Caps pic.twitter.com/AewBXg1Wsl
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) January 14, 2022
Ovechkin was placed back on the first line with Evgeny Kuznetsov. TJ Oshie replaced Tom Wilson as the team’s top right winger.
The full lines are below via The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell.
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Oshie
Sprong-Backstrom-Wilson
Sheary-Dowd-Hathaway
McMichael-Eller-Leason
Fehervary-Carlson
TvR-Jensen
Irwin-Schultz
Ovechkin was previously nursing an upper-body injury that he either suffered or aggravated against the Boston Bruins on Monday. The Capitals captain took the ice before practice on Thursday before ultimately deciding to leave the ice.
Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette hoped the issue wasn’t major, which it appears it isn’t.
“He had his gear on,” Laviolette said. “He went out. He came back off so I think we’re just trying to make sure everything’s good for the weekend. So, I’m sure he would have liked to be out there today but it’s probably best to try and make sure he’s good for the weekend.
“He hardly ever misses,” Laviolette added. “He had a day off yesterday so he didn’t like missing today. This is the guy in COVID protocol and played five hours later. He wants to play games.”
The Capitals play back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday against the New York Islanders and Vancouver Canucks respectively.
Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB
