ARLINGTON, VA — Alex Ovechkin has taken another step in his recovery from a lower-body injury. Ovechkin hit the ice in a regular practice jersey on Saturday morning and was a full participant in the Capitals’ non-game group skate.
Though the skate was a skills session rather than a full practice led by skills coach Kenny McCudden, Ovechkin did throw and receive lighter hits during drills.
Saturday marks the first time Ovechkin has been back on the ice without a no-contact jersey since the first day of training camp.
Ovechkin left the ice injured partway through his first skate of training camp on September 18, though neither he nor head coach Spencer Carbery expressed concern at the time. After starting to skate on his own again on Tuesday, Ovechkin re-joined his teammates at practice on Saturday, but he did so in a no-contact jersey and did not participate in the full length of practice.
“Another step in the right direction for him to get back to practice and potentially play in exhibition games,” Carbery said then.
Carbery has told reporters that he hopes to get Ovechkin into two exhibition games before the regular season starts on October 8. Not including Sunday’s tilt against the New Jersey Devils, the Capitals have three preseason games remaining on their calendar.
Ovechkin, 40, is set to play the 21st season of his NHL career after breaking the league’s all-time goals record in April. With one year remaining on his contract, he currently sits just nine games away from the 1,500 game mark and three tallies back of 900 goals.
