ARLINGTON, VA — Alex Ovechkin took another positive step on Monday as he continues his recovery from a lower-body injury, hitting the ice as a full participant in practice.
Ovechkin, who left his first skate of training camp early, first re-joined his teammates for practice in a no-contact jersey on Saturday. He later took contact on Sunday during a session with Capitals skills coach Kenny McCudden, but Monday marked the first time he did so in a standard practice.
Speaking to reporters after the skate, Ovechkin explained that he could have returned to practice sooner with medical intervention, but that he and the team decided to give him more time for recovery.
“We don’t want to force it,” he said. “It’s training camp right now. We still have time to get ready for regular year, so I’ll be ready. Hope my body’s going to feel good…You just have to be smart on it.
“Sometimes you come to the training camp and you feel a little sore in your knee or your wrist or something, so you have to do maybe injection, maybe take some pills to feel better. But overall we didn’t want to do it right now, so that’s why we [took] days off, working out with the team, and did some extra stuff to recover.”
Monday’s skate was another positive sign, though Ovechkin felt the effects of sitting out the first half of camp.
“It feels good,” he said. “Obviously I need more practice, more ice time with the boys, because obviously what I missed is hitting me a little bit, but overall I’ll take it.”
The Capitals bottom-heavy preseason schedule could prove a boon as Ovechkin works to sharpen up before opening night, with three games remaining in the final week of training camp. Washington will travel to Columbus to face the Blue Jackets on Tuesday before playing their final two exhibition games at home, facing the Boston Bruins and Blue Jackets on Thursday and Saturday.
Head coach Spencer Carbery said last week that he’d like to get Ovechkin into a home game and an away game before the season starts, but acknowledged Monday that Ovechkin is unlikely to be ready in time for the team’s last road trip.
“I highly doubt he’ll play tomorrow, but it leaves a couple home games that he’ll potentially be able to get into,” he said.
With more than a week of Ovechkin’s camp lost to injury, Carbery emphasized the importance of the final stretch in preparing him for the regular season.
“I mean, he’s missed a significant amount of camp, but I know he’s been training and skating and trying to do everything he possibly can at 40 years old to make sure that he’s ready for opening night next Wednesday,” Carbery said. “So I would expect — but he’s missed a lot. So hopefully this last little nine days, he can get as close to top form as possible.”
Ovechkin is set to begin his 21st NHL season next month with several milestones on the horizon. He currently sits nine away from 1,500 games played and three tallies away from 900 goals.
