Alex Ovechkin returned to the ice at Capitals Training Camp on Tuesday morning for the first time since leaving the first day of camp early with a lower-body injury.
Ovechkin, donning a light blue no-contact jersey, briefly skated at MedStar Capitals Iceplex but departed before Group A got their practice underway. He was not listed on the roster for either of their two groups remaining at camp.
The 40-year-old winger missed the last four skates overall. Monday was a team off day.
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery previously labeled Ovechkin as “day-to-day,” and Ovechkin himself was unconcerned about his ailment when he met with the media last week.
“First step in getting back into the practices,” Carbery said Tuesday. “We’ll see [about tomorrow]. Have to talk to Serbs (head trainer Jason Serbus) and see what the plan is, but back on the ice is a good thing. “Still plenty of runway in training camp. Decent amount of time for him to get back, get a bunch of practices under his belt, potentially get into some preseason games.”
Outside of Ovechkin’s quick twirl on the ice, Martin Fehervary and Justin Sourdif, who began camp in their own no-contact jerseys, took to the ice in regular practice sweaters. The Capitals also announced that Nic Dowd would miss Tuesday’s skate for personal reasons.
The Capitals are set to play their next preseason game on Thursday at Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania, against the Philadelphia Flyers. Nine players were cut from the club’s preseason roster on Tuesday morning.
