The Washington Capitals announced prior to their first practice since the NHL paused the 2021-22 season that defensemen Nick Jensen (has spent four days in it), Martin Fehervary (three), Dennis Cholowski (three), and goaltender Vitek Vanecek (three) were placed in COVID-19 protocol since they last hit the ice on Tuesday. Right-wing Daniel Sprong and defenseman Justin Schultz both remain in COVID-19 protocol after testing positive on December 21.

The Capitals did not list center Nicklas Backstrom (who entered on December 17), center Evgeny Kuznetsov (December 15), and right-wing T.J. Oshie (December 19) among the players in COVID-19 protocol.

In other news, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom should be able to be activated off the Covid list whenever they are ready.

If my math is right, Zach Fucale (in Hershey) and T.J. Oshie should also be able to come off soon. https://t.co/vnJhKMQWy0

— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) December 27, 2021

Per an NHL’s press release from last season, the reason a player is listed as “unavailable” due to COVID-19 protocol includes: (1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons.

37 games got postponed within a week before the NHL opted to halt play for two days heading into the holiday break after Tuesday’s game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena. That included two Capitals games at the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders. The league postponed two more games on Sunday.

The Capitals recalled defenseman Michal Kempny and goaltender Pheonix Copley from the AHL’s Hershey Bears and assigned defensemen Lucas Johansen and Alex Alexeyev in addition to right-wing Brett Leason to the taxi squad.

The team is scheduled to return against the Nashville Predators on Wednesday (7 PM ET, NBC Sports Washington in-market, ESPN+ out-of-market).

By Harrison Brown