Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin did not participate in the team’s game-day morning skate on Friday and will not play against the Flyers Friday night at Capital One Arena.

Justin Schultz also missed the morning skate and will not play tonight. Daniel Sprong missed Wednesday’s game against the Rangers due to illness, but will be able to play tonight.

Evgeny Kuznetsov and Ilya Samsonov are on the league’s COVID0-19 protocol list and will not play tonight.

Coach Laviolette with roster updates heading into tonight’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers.#CapsFlyers pic.twitter.com/bJwRFvr1wC

— x – Washington Capitals (@Capitals) May 7, 2021

Ovechkin played a mere 39 seconds on Monday against the Rangers before he exited the game and didn’t return. He would miss all of Wednesday’s game against the Rangers.

Ovechkin was originally listed “day-to-day” on Friday, April 23, with a lower body injury that he sustained in the third period of the Capitals first game with the Islanders on April 22. He appeared to pull up (right leg) as he rushed the puck through the neutral zone with 2:49 remaining in regulation.

Ovechkin ultimately did not skate in the overtime period but remained on the bench. He did not participate in the Capitals’ optional practice the following day and would miss the next four games before giving it a try on Monday.

The Capitals lines at morning skate:

Capitals’ forward lines at AM skate:

Sprong-Backstrom-Mantha
Sheary-Eller-Oshie
Carr-Raffl-Wilson
Hagelin-Dowd-Hathaway

— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) May 7, 2021

The Capitals face the Philadelphia Flyers in the first game of a back-to-back set tonight at Capital One Arena. Puck drop is set for 7:00 PM.

By Jon Sorensen
Follow @nova_caps