Yahoo Sports Capitals Monitoring Ovechkin To Open Training Camp; Captain 'Nicked Up' After Minor Offseason Injury
ARLINGTON, V.A. — Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin wasn't going to miss the first day of training camp for anything.
That's why the 39-year-old was on the ice and all smiles for Day 1, but was limited in his practice and is "a little bit nicked up" to get things started, head coach Spencer Carbery said.
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Ovechkin said he tweaked something mid-training and that it's nothing major, but he and the coaching staff want to play things safe.
"You just have to be smart and we talk about it with our trainers and the coaching staff. I went there just to see how I feel and feel nice out there," Ovechkin said. "I was skating normal, but yeah, you just have to be smart... it's three weeks before puck drops and you don't want to push it too hard. You just have to be smart about it."
That being said, Washington is keeping an eye on the situation, even though general manager Chris Patrick assured reporters that the concern level is not too high. There were precautions taken for Ovechkin's first day of camp, though, as he rotated in with Alex Limoges during the team's first practice session.
"We just want to be smart with it early in camp to make sure. The first few days are tough; they're difficult days, and he as our captain wants to be out there," Carbery said. "We need to be intelligent about trying to be out there and then he takes a step back, which we don't want."
Ovechkin had left Monday's informal skate just minutes after it started after pulling back and being in apparent discomfort on the opening drill. He returned to the ice Tuesday without much issue.
Despite the ailment, Ovechkin was moving well on the ice, skating with power and confidence while showing that his shot is still as strong as ever.
Ovechkin is closing in on history going into his 20th NHL season, as he sits 42 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's all-time NHL goals record.
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