Alex Ovechkin was back on the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex for the first time in three days on Wednesday morning. However, his appearance was brief, and he returned to the team’s locker room just 15 minutes after starting practice.
Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery was asked about Ovechkin’s early departure after the skate. The bench boss remains relatively unconcerned, saying Ovechkin left for “precautionary” reasons.
“Didn’t quite feel right to practice today,” Carbery said. “Came out, gave it a try, but just want to be cautious with it at this point and not push it.
“I mean, him being out there and practicing is a pretty good indicator that it’s not too serious. I think it’s just him not wanting to push it if it’s not quite 100 percent at this point before the season.”
The Capitals revealed Monday that Ovechkin is dealing with an undisclosed lower-body injury that had forced him out of two straight preseason practices. The 41-year-old winger has not played in either of the club’s two preseason games, with just two more remaining on the schedule before the 2026-27 regular season is set to kick off.
Ovechkin started Wednesday’s practice back on a line with Dylan Strome and Ryan Leonard, with whom he has exclusively skated so far during training camp. After leaving the ice, he was replaced by 2022 first-round pick Ivan Miroshnichenko, who also took the elder Russian’s reps with Washington’s first power-play unit.
“I just made that in-practice adjustment just to get three guys on the red line, but not definitively for game action,” Carbery said. “We’ll talk about that. But (Miroshnichenko is) an option.”
The Capitals are set to have one more full day of practice before hosting the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena for their third game of the preseason on Friday night. They’ll then travel to Philadelphia to face the Flyers in their preseason finale on Saturday night.
Given the condensed exhibition schedule under the NHL’s renewed CBA, Ovechkin may not see any game action before the Capitals open their regular season against the Carolina Hurricanes on October 2.
