The Washington Capitals returned to practice at Kettler this morning (Monday), following a day-off yesterday.  The team began preparations for tomorrow night’s tilt against the San Joe Sharks.  Game time is 7:00 p.m. at Verizon Center.

Morning Skate
Nicklas Backstrom returned to practice this morning, this time without a blue non-contact jersey.  Backstrom cycled in with the second line during practice this morning. Practice lines for this morning’s skate essentially remained the dame from Saturday night:

Offensive
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Oshie
Johansson-Kuznetsov-Williams
Chimera-Beagle-Wilson
Laich-Latta-Collins

Defensive
Orpik-Carlson
Alzner-Niskanen
Schmidt-Orlov

Standings

Forwards Stanislav Galiev and Sean Collins were also at practice this morning, so it appears Nicklas Backstrom has not been officially taken off of injured reserve.  Last week, Trotz noted that Backstrom was going to see his hip surgeon this week, and that he would not be cleared until he meets with the surgeon.  On Backstrom, Trotz said he’s not sure what day he’s meeting with the surgeon.

Sharks @ Capitals
Joel Ward returns to Verizon Center Tuesday night as his new team, the San Joe Sharks come to town.  The Sharks (2-0-0) are coming off a pair of wins against the L.A. Kings and the Anaheim Ducks.

(Photo: @washcaps)

News and Notes
The Washington Capitals hosted the American Special Hockey Association for a skate at Kettler this afternoon. Capitals Captain Alexander Ovechkin skated with the group as well. Special Hockey Gives kids with disabilities a chance to learn and grow through ice hockey. Alex Ovechkin also presented the group with a donation of nearly $30,000 from the MSE foundation.  The money was raised from the Beard-athon held last season.

As per Isabelle Khurshudyan, Trotz joked that if he plays the 25-83-43 line against the SJ line Joel Ward’s on, Ward and Chimera might just stand around chatting.

Ticket availability for Sharks game

Ticket Trends
At 11:00 a.m. this morning, approximately 923 tickets remained on Stubhub for Tuesday night’s game against the Sharks. Current prices range from $19 for upper level seats to $350 for VIP glass seats in section 112 (Row A).

Tickets on the Washington Capitals official ticket exchange range from $14 for upper level to $422 for Section 107, Row D.

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THIS DAILY REPORT IS UPDATED IN REAL-TIME, AS NEWS AND OTHER NOTES EMERGE, UNTIL 5 PM EACH DAY. PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES.