Alex Ovechkin took the next big step in recovering from his broken left fibula on Wednesday morning.
Ovechkin wore his equipment under a no-contact jersey and got some more on-ice work in after skating in just a tracksuit ahead of Capitals practice earlier this week. The superstar sniper still has not rejoined his teammates for a practice, and his four-to-six-week injury timeline has not changed.
“Yeah, he skated this morning,” head coach Spencer Carbery said. “Just part of the program. No real update, just part of his progression.”
Ovechkin missed his seventh consecutive game with the injury on Tuesday night as the Capitals fell to the San Jose Sharks 2-1 in overtime. Washington is now 4-2-1 without their captain and leading goal scorer.
The seven games out of the lineup is the longest consecutive stretch Ovechkin has missed for the Capitals in his 20-season career. His previous most extended spell out of action came during the 2009-10 campaign with an “upper-body strain” after a scrum involving Jason Chimera.
While seeing Ovechkin out on the ice is a positive, Carbery has been tempering expectations about Ovechkin’s involvement. The second-year bench boss spoke about his captain with 106.7 The Fan’s Sports Junkies early in the morning on Wednesday.
“He skated, which is positive,” Carbery said. “Sorta the first step of him getting into his skates – it was nothing crazy intense. Good to see that everything is on track, and he’ll just continue to check boxes as he works his way back. I think the next step will be putting on some gear, going through some individual stuff, and then we’ll slowly work him back.”
In line with his four to six week timeline, Ovechkin’s potential return dates range from December 17 against the Chicago Blackhawks to December 31 against the Boston Bruins. Washington has five games between those two dates.
