Aliaksei Protas took another step in his injury recovery process on Wednesday morning.
Ahead of the Capitals’ morning skate before Game 2 of their first-round series against the Montreal Canadiens, Protas shed the light blue non-contact jersey he had previously been wearing in favor of a regular, white practice jersey.
The 24-year-old forward is rehabbing a skate cut to his left foot he suffered against the Chicago Blackhawks on April 4 and missed the team’s Game 1 overtime win. Monumental Sports Network’s Tarik El-Bashir posted video of Protas’s on-ice work.
Protas skated on his own and then got in some skills work with Capitals skills coach Kenny McCudden. However, per NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, he departed the ice when his teammates jumped on to begin their preparations for the morning skate, indicating he may not be quite ready to return for Game 2.
Head coach Spencer Carbery did not provide an update after the skate but was optimistic about Protas’s outlook to eventually dress during the series when asked about the Belarusian earlier this week.
“Yeah, I think he absolutely — I would expect him to play, and we’ll just see when that is,” he said Monday. “Might be tonight, might be Game 2, we’ll see.”
Protas had a career-best 2024-25 campaign, recording 66 points (30g, 36a) in 76 games for the Capitals. He missed the final six games of the regular season and the first game of the postseason due to the skate-cut injury.
Anthony Beauvillier replaced Protas on the Capitals’ top line with Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome against the Canadiens in Game 1 and provided instant offense. The trade deadline acquisition posted two points (1g, 1a), including the primary assist to Ovechkin on the overtime winner.
