Ovechkin nearing return for playoffs

Caps have daunting task vs. top-seeded Panthers, who had most points in regular season

Alex Ovechkin seems primed to return to the ice Tuesday for Game 1 of the Washington Capitals’ first-round playoff series against the Florida Panthers. The 36-year-old captain missed the final three games of the regular season after he suffered an upper-body injury April 24.

On Sunday, Ovechkin said he could have played in the last week of the season if they had been playoff games, but he and the team wanted to be cautious.

“We knew we make the playoffs and just decided to take a rest,” he said.

Ovechkin skated at Sunday’s practice. He took all of his reps and has been skating with the team since Thursday. He didn’t shy away from contact Sunday and was taking his usual one-timers as practice wound down.

When asked whether he definitely will be ready Tuesday, Ovechkin said, “We’ll see.”

Games 1 and 2 against the top-seeded Panthers will be played in Sunrise, Florida. The last time the Capitals, who are the second wild-card team in the Eastern Conference, started the postseason on the road was in 2012.

“We just have to play the same way on the road like we play in the regular season,” said Ovechkin, whose Capitals were an NHL-best 25-10-6 away from home this season. “... Everything is changing. It’s a totally different game ... so I think we’re all excited. We all can’t wait for Game 1.”

Ovechkin, who had 50 goals in 77 regular season games, has not missed a playoff game in his 17-year NHL career. He has 71 goals and 64 assists in 141 postseason games.

“Obviously he is the best goal scorer in the league,” defenseman Dmitry Orlov said. “You can see in the last three games we didn’t score a lot. For sure, we need him as a captain, as a leader, as our goal scorer.”

Washington was 0-3 in its final three games — back-to-back losses to the New York Islanders by a combined score of 9-2 before a 3-2 defeat at the New York Rangers on Friday.

Despite that poor showing, the Capitals are confident they can bounce back. Washington was 1-1-1 against Florida this season, but the teams have not met since November.

“It’s going to be totally different games than the regular season,” Ovechkin said. “Obviously, they have a very solid group of guys, best team in the regular season. But in the playoffs. It’s going to be different. It’s going to be a different mind-set. It’s going to be different speed. It’s going to be a different battle level.”