Capitals finally able to operate at full strength
Entire season-opening lineup, 1st time in 3 weeks
For the first time in three weeks, the Washington Capitals had their entire season-opening lineup on the ice for practice Thursday. With the team mired in a three-game losing streak, a return to health couldn’t have come at a better time.
Also working in the Capitals’ favor has been an unexpected week off — the result of three games postponed because of coronavirus issues — after less than a month of play.
The result is a chance for an early reset with a trip to Pittsburgh looming Sunday.
“It feels like we’ve been playing the season for a long time, but I know we’re still pretty early in the year,” T.J. Oshie said.
The practice marked the first time the Capitals had a full roster available to them since Jan. 19, when they played the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. Four players — Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov and Ilya Samsonov — were added to the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list on Jan. 20 after Samsonov tested positive for the coronavirus. Then the Capitals began dealing with injury after injury.
Tom Wilson missed two games after a lower-body injury Jan. 22 against the Buffalo Sabres. Lars Eller missed four games after he was crunched along the boards Jan. 26 against the New York Islanders. Justin Schultz has missed four games since he took a puck to the face Jan. 28 against the Islanders. Conor Sheary missed one game with a knee injury suffered Feb. 1 against Boston. Even Oshie missed a game with an upper-body injury.
“It’s been a weird year,” Wilson said. “Obviously ups and downs, guys in and out of the lineup. That will probably be a theme for the whole year, but it is good timing for us to reset, focus on our game, get some key guys back and get other guys back who are nursing some things.”
Taxi-squad players and emergency roster exemptions were needed, as well as call-ups from the Hershey Bears, the team’s American Hockey League affiliate.