The Washington Capitals held their first full practice on Wednesday since taking down the Chicago Blackhawks on the road last weekend. Notably, the skate saw participation from marquee, summer free agency signing Max Pacioretty for the first time since he signed with the team back in July.
Pacioretty, still donning a light blue non-contact jersey for the time being, has been ramping up his skating in recent weeks with an eye to return before the new year. The 35-year-old winger is trying to make his way back into an NHL lineup after tearing the same Achilles tendon twice in the span of just five months.
Although Pacioretty’s jersey color designates him as a non-contact participant, RMNB’s Katie Adler reports that Pacioretty definitely took some contact at the skate. The veteran forward could be seen clashing with rookie defenseman Lucas Johansen in board battle drills even after the main portion of practice had ended.
Pacioretty’s increased level of activity doesn’t mean his return date has been moved up from previous estimates by head coach Spencer Carbery though. “We’re starting to think about him lineup wise, lines, some special teams stuff,” Carbery said Wednesday. “We’re watching him more closely in practice and in skills sessions. Still don’t have a definitive date but two-to-three weeks. We’re looking at the break coming up. We’ve got six games before the break, essentially 12 days. I would be surprised if it was before the Christmas break. There’s still quite a bit of runway there.”
Carbery added that Pacioretty will start traveling with the team to away games, allowing him to acclimate to his teammates and the daily routine. The plan is for him to keep skating on those road trips, even if the rest of the team has a day off or is not practicing due to a back-to-back.
Pacioretty revealed in early November that he had his own goal in mind for when he would return, but declined to share that publicly.
“I do, personally,” he said. “Internally, I haven’t shared that with anyone other than my family. I’ve been through this before. It’s circled in pencil around a couple days where I want to be. Ultimately, that’s out of my control. I haven’t talked to the team about that but it’s something that would be pretty special to me.”
If Carbery’s estimate is accurate, the soonest we could see Pacioretty would be against the New York Rangers on the road on December 27. Just a little over a week after that, the Capitals will host Pacioretty’s former Carolina Hurricanes at Capital One Arena on January 5.
Headline photo: Katie Adler/RMNB
