All signs point to Aliaksei Protas making his long-awaited return to the Capitals’ lineup in Game 5 of the team’s first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens. Protas traveled with the Caps to Montreal but did not feature in either Game 3 or Game 4 due to the skate cut he suffered to his left foot earlier this month.
Head coach Spencer Carbery is still yet to fully commit to Protas playing on Wednesday night, but did say the Belarusian winger was “ready to roll” on Monday. Carbery spoke about Protas again Tuesday morning, discussing whether jumping into the middle of a playoff series would come with a tough adjustment period for the 24-year-old forward.
“It’ll have its challenges of getting up to speed, the touches, the pace of the game, the physicality, and that, but he hasn’t been out for two months,” Carbery said. “It’s been a few weeks, so when he gets back in, and usually it’s different for every player, you’re hoping he can pick up as quickly as possible. Takes him maybe a period, a couple shifts to get acclimated with the pace of play, physicality, the things that are required in playoff hockey.”
Protas finished the 2024-25 regular season ranked tied for third on the Capitals in scoring with 66 points (30g, 36a) in 76 games. He was one of the most productive five-on-five players in the NHL, recording 2.84 points per 60 minutes, which ranked fourth in the league behind only David Pastrnak (3.13), Sean Monahan (3.07), and Nikita Kucherov (2.90).
The Capitals haven’t just missed Protas at even strength, though, as he was one of the team’s regular penalty killers throughout the year. Among all Caps forwards, he ranked tied for third with Tom Wilson in average shorthanded ice time per game (1:35). The Caps have given up five power-play goals to the Canadiens, killing off just 61.5 percent of their penalties through four games.
“He can be a huge boost. He’s been a huge penalty killer for us all year, especially offensively with his skating,” Carbery said. “He’s one of the top whatever they do with the stat of chances per 60 shorthanded. I think he’s right up there in the league, so he’s a big part of our penalty kill. So, if and when he gets back in, he’ll help that group significantly.”
Carbery’s assessment is correct, as among all penalty killers in the league with at least 100 minutes of shorthanded ice time, Protas ranked seventh in the league in individual scoring chances per 60 minutes (6.49). The only players ahead of him are Anthony Cirelli (6.55), Warren Foegele (6.58), Sebastian Aho (6.62), Seth Jarvis (7.05), Shane Pinto (7.31), and Brandon Hagel (8.57).
Protas has been a full participant in Capitals practices since last Friday. Carbery has yet to give any indication of who might come out of the team’s lineup for Protas, but rookie forward Ryan Leonard did play a team-low 9:25 of ice time in the Game 4 win, which was also the fewest amount Leonard has played in any game to start his NHL career.
The Capitals will have their first chance to eliminate the Canadiens and move on to the second round in Game 5 at Capital One Arena. Puck drop for the potential series clincher is scheduled for 7:00 pm.
