Aliaksei Protas continues to make progress as he attempts to return from injury.
Ahead of the Capitals’ morning skate on Monday, Protas took the ice in a non-contact jersey for a second consecutive day. The 24-year-old forward is rehabbing a skate cut to his left foot he suffered against the Chicago Blackhawks on April 4.
Capitals superfan Charlie McManus posted video of Protas’s pretty spirited spin out on the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex.
Protas skated a little over 10 minutes and did not stay on the ice for the morning skate, seemingly ruling him out of Game 1 of the Capitals’ first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens.
Though, after the session concluded, Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said he was optimistic Protas would suit up sometime during the series.
“Yeah, I think he absolutely — I would expect him to play and we’ll just see when that is,” he said. “Might be tonight, might be Game 2, we’ll see.”
The Belarussian forward had a career year in 2024-25, registering 66 points (30g, 36a) in 76 games for the Eastern Conference’s top-seeded Capitals. He missed the final six games of the regular season due to the injury.
Getting Protas back in the lineup would be a major boon to the Capitals. Not only did the big winger play in the top six all season, but he was a major part of the team’s penalty kill with Tom Wilson.
