The Washington Capitals got back to the basics at practice and received some injury updates on Sonny Milano and Craig Smith.
ARLINGTON, V.A. -- With eight games left to go in the regular season and every point critical in a wild playoff push, the Washington Capitals are going back to the basics.
With a couple of days between games following the "toughest loss" of the season to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, head coach Peter Laviolette held a long practice on Monday, where the players focused on 3-on-3 play, puck possession and, to close things out, a shootout.
"Just got guys working, I thought they worked really hard trying to make it competitive. There's still things that are pertinent to the game, 3-on-3, when you get into those situations, you got to win, 4-on-4 happens through the games," head coach Peter Laviolette explained. "[Tuesday] we'll get into some things [like] power play, penalty kill, things that we might need against the Islanders."
As the team prepares for a critical Wednesday showdown with New York, there are also dealing with injuries on the forward lines.
Sonny Milano missed Monday's practice and is still dealing with an upper-body injury. He did not make the trip to Pittsburgh on Saturday, and the team said he could be out at least a week. The news came after he took a big hit from Connor Murphy back on Thursday.
Fortunately for the team, Milano appears to be trending in the right direction.
"He is [making progress], but obviously not out with us," Laviolette said, adding, "Yes he is feeling better."
While Milano could be on the mend, Washington is also monitoring another injury on the middle-6, as Craig Smtih, who did not skate in the third period of Saturday's loss to the Penguins, took rushes but left practice roughly 10 minutes in on Monday. He did not return to the ice.
Laviolette said that right now, Smith is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, but he did not have further updates or details on what's ailing the 33-year-old forward.
"We'll see how he is. Hopefully, it's not long-term," Laviolette said.
Ovechkin also missed Monday's skate for maintenance. He was at the facility and also took part in promotional photoshoots after the skate.
The Capitals return to action with a key divisional game against the Islanders on Wednesday. Whether or not Milano or Smith will be ready to go remains to be seen, and if not, Washington could turn to the Hershey Bears and make some recalls.