Ovechkin sits out the rest of the Capitals preseason, but Carbery says Opening Night is still on

Ovechkin sits out the rest of the Capitals preseason, but Carbery says Opening Night is still on

Spencer Carbery did not sugarcoat it Friday morning. Alex Ovechkin, 41 years old and still the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer, will not play in either of Washington's two remaining preseason games. No appearance Friday night against Boston at Capital One Arena. No trip to Philadelphia on Saturday. The entire exhibition calendar is done for him before a single shot on goal.

And yet Carbery was remarkably calm about all of it.

"I expect him to be ready," Carbery said Friday. "We would need a setback for him not to be ready for our opening game of the season in Carolina. We would need something to change. But I expect him to be ready."

Ovechkin will be held out of Washington's final two preseason games as a precaution while he recovers from a lower-body injury, but the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer is on track to play in their regular-season opener at the Carolina Hurricanes on October 2. The Hurricanes, it is worth remembering, are the defending Stanley Cup champions. Washington will have to be sharp from puck drop.

Carbery put it plainly: "We're just going to be cautious with it, so he's not going to play tonight or tomorrow." Ovechkin was on the ice with teammates for Friday morning skate, a day after going through his first full practice since the injury. But getting into a game simply wasn't worth the risk.

Carbery acknowledged the situation wasn't ideal, but getting Ovechkin back to full health took precedence over a game that won't count in the standings. "I'm not going to sit here and say that it's the best scenario possible, for him not to play any exhibition games, but we're making sure, even if he's 90, 95 (percent healthy), if he is not 100 percent there, what's the sense in rushing him to play?" Carbery said. "No disrespect, we'd like to get him into a game, but it's an exhibition game at the same time. So we'll give him an extra, whatever the exact amount of days, to get himself 100 percent healthy, which is more of a priority than him getting into a little bit of game action."

The timeline of this injury has moved fast and, at moments, looked worse than it probably is. The Capitals revealed that Ovechkin was dealing with an undisclosed lower-body injury that had forced him out of two straight preseason practices. The 41-year-old winger had not played in either of the club's first two preseason games. Then on Wednesday he returned briefly, left practice after 15 minutes after not skating the previous three days because of his injury. Thursday looked much better. Ovechkin was a full participant at practice Thursday, and Carbery said "It was a good sign. Participated fully, didn't have to take any portions off, so that's a good step."

Then came Friday's decision to hold him out entirely.

This is the third year in a row Ovechkin has been nursing an injury at the start of training camp. Last year he still managed to play in preseason games despite a similar scare. This year, Carbery isn't taking the chance, and the coach's reasoning is hard to argue with. "Ideally, if you asked me one or the other, I would say yes (it's important for him to play), but I don't think it's a real definitive, just because he's been through this so many times," Carbery said. "He was out for a bit at the beginning of camp (last year). I'm not worried. At this point in his career, I'm pretty sure he knows what he needs to do to get up to speed for a season opener."

That kind of trust matters. Ovechkin, 41, is back for his 22nd NHL season. Very few people on the planet know what it takes to get an aging body ready for an October opener better than he does.

What fans at Capital One Arena did get Friday night was a first real look at the new Capitals. Caps fans in DC got a first look at offseason acquisitions Alex Tuch, Jordan Kyrou, Boone Jenner, and Vincent Desharnais, plus new renovations made at the venue over the summer. In their third preseason game, the Capitals essentially fielded their Opening Night lineup as they prepare for their regular-season opener on October 2. The team dressed almost all of its starters for its second and final preseason tilt against the Boston Bruins.

Early in that game, Washington opened the scoring in less than two minutes as Dylan Strome scored his second goal of the preseason, with assists from Tom Wilson and Pierre-Luc Dubois. The kind of sequence that Capitals fans want to see become routine once the games actually count.

Given the condensed exhibition schedule under the NHL's renewed CBA, Ovechkin may not see any game action before the Capitals open their regular season against the Carolina Hurricanes on October 2. That is six days away. Washington will practice at McMullen Hockey Arena in Annapolis on Monday before the trip south to Raleigh.

The real concern here is not about preseason reps. It's about what happens if this lower-body issue lingers into October. Ovechkin has been practicing on a line with Dylan Strome and Ryan Leonard in training camp. Without him on that first line, the offensive structure changes. Ivan Miroshnichenko had been filling in for Ovechkin in practice, but Ryan Leonard will move to Ovechkin's place on the left wing for the Boston game, with Ethen Frank slotting in on the right. Neither is Ovechkin.

Carbery says he'll be ready October 2. Everyone in D.C. is taking him at his word, and they have good reason to. Ovechkin showed up at morning skate Friday. He was out there moving. The plan is just to keep him that way through the weekend and let the regular season do what it always does: make everything real again.

Sources

• NHL.com: Ovechkin expected to be ready for Capitals' regular-season opener
• Russian Machine Never Breaks: Ovechkin will miss both remaining preseason games
• Russian Machine Never Breaks: Ovechkin leaves training camp practice early
• NHL.com: Status Report, Ovechkin dealing with injury
• NHL.com: Ovechkin takes 'good step' in return to Capitals practice
• Russian Machine Never Breaks: Capitals announce roster for dress rehearsal vs. Bruins
• Sports Illustrated / SI.com: Bruins at Capitals Preseason Game Central