Captain Alex Ovechkin joined his Washington Capitals teammates at MedStar Capitals Iceplex for Phase Two of the NHL’s Return to Play plan, small informal skates, on Saturday. He flew up from his offseason home in Miami, Florida earlier this week.
He back. @ovi8 #ALLCAPS | @devourfoods pic.twitter.com/ba3Ow3jDz1
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) June 27, 2020
Other Capitals players are starting to trickle into town as center Nicklas Backstrom flew home on a charter plane with fellow Swedes earlier this week.
Ovechkin tied Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak for the NHL lead with 48 goals during the regular season, winning his third consecutive Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy. The 34-year-old recorded 22 goals in his final 22 games to catapult to the top of the league’s goal-scoring list after he trailed Pastrnak by nine on January 12.
Center Evgeny Kuznetsov, center Lars Eller, forward Garnet Hathaway, defenseman John Carlson, and goaltender Braden Holtby were already at MedStar Capitals Iceplex for small group workouts before Ovechkin arrived. Though, Ovechkin was skating in Miami with fellow NHLers.
Phase three, training camps, are set to begin on Friday, July 10, less than two weeks away, and phase four, the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, are reportedly set to begin on Thursday, July 30.
By Harrison Brown
