ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals got a positive sign on Thursday, as Alex Ovechkin returned to work as a full participant in a busy practice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex.
Ovechkin skated on his own before the skate before taking his place on the top line with Dylan Strome and Ryan Leonard and staying on for the entirety of the practice.
"It was a good sign," Carbery said. "He participated fully, didn't have to take any portions off, so that's good."
Carbery said that there's a chance that Ovechkin could play on Friday against the Boston Bruins, but will talk to athletic trainer Jason Serbus to see what the exact plan is. If he does play in preseason, it will either play Friday or Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers. Ovechkin will not appear in both of the team's final exhibition showdowns.
That said, the team isn't overly concerned if he doesn't get into a game before the start of the regular season next week.
"I'm not worried. He's at this point in his career that I'm pretty sure he knows what he needs to get up to speed for a season opener," Carbery said.
With Ovechkin back, the lineup remained the same as it's been through camp. Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren were the goalie, and Clay Stevenson skated with Group B to give the netminders the chance at a full practice without having to rotate.
Here were the lines:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Ryan Leonard
Alex Tuch-Pierre-Luc Dubois-Tom Wilson
Aliaksei Protas-Ilya Protas-Jordan Kyrou
Boone Jenner-Justin Sourdif-Anthony Beauvillier
Ivan Miroshnichenko-Jonny Brodzinski-Ethen Frank
Jakob Chychrun-Matt Roy
Cole Hutson-Vinny Desharnais
Martin Fehervary-Timothy Liljegren
Justin Holl-Dylan McIlrath
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
Washington also worked on penalty kill, with Alex Tuch and Tom Wilson, Aliaksei Protas and Anthony Beauvillier and Justin Sourdif and Boone Jenner working as the forward pairings.
For Carbery, it was important for the team to put time aside to work on the PK ahead of Friday's home game.
"Some of our power-play guys are on the penalty kill, so we felt like it was a good idea in camp (to) hit this right away," Carbery said, adding, "We're just trying to have all four guys get on the same page as quickly as we possibly can."
Washington expects Friday to be a dress rehearsal for its NHL roster. Logan Thompson will play the full game, and the team will then decide whether Charlie Lindgren or Clay Stevenson will split Saturday or if it will be a full game for either netminder.
