The Washington Capitals returned to work on Friday for an optional practice following their 3-2 shootout victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night. They will practice again on Saturday before departing for Toronto in advance of their tilt with the Maple Leafs on Sunday. Puck drop on Sunday is set for 5PM.

OPTIONAL PRACTICE

The team changed today’s practice to optional earlier in the day. Tom Wilson did not participate in the optional workout.

Washington has an optional practice today. Tom Wilson (lower body) is not on the ice. Handful of vets out here.

— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) January 27, 2023

John Carlson, who was injured back on December 23 on a shot that hit him in the face, was seen skating at MedStar this morning before the team’s practice – the next step in his road back to returning to the lineup.

it johnny be good to see you this morning, @JohnCarlson74 pic.twitter.com/Stzq2MwQUK

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 27, 2023

Update from the Capitals on John Carlson: Today’s skating session was a light trip around the ice. He’ll continue to do low-level exercises before being reevaluated in late February.

Charlie Lindgren donned his new gear for the upcoming Stadium Series game against the Carolina Hurricanes on February 18.

Chuckie bringing the heat with his #StadiumSeries gear 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/hU0R8C0BLv

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 27, 2023

NEXT UP

As noted, the Capitals next visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday. The Leafs will be without Auston Matthews, who was ruled out by the team on Friday.

Injury update:

Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews will be out of the lineup for a minimum of three weeks due to a knee sprain suffered in Wednesday’s game vs. NYR.

— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) January 27, 2023

STAT OF THE DAY

Today’s ‘stat of the day’ plots the Capitals team shooting percentage at even strength for the first 51 games this season and the current league average (8.36%). [Click to enlarge].

The Capitals are currently shooting at 8.29% for the season, which is just slightly below the league average.

DOWN ON THE FARM

Ivan Miroshnichenko (Avangard) and Bogdan Trineyev (Dynamo) went head-to-head for the first time in the KHL on Friday. Miroshnichenko scored his second career KHL goal in the game.

Ivan Miroshnichenko with a nice defensive play in the zone, then gets the redirect for his 2nd career KHL goal today against Dynamo. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/luVPxhKkxi

— Capitals Prospects (@jon_m_sorensen) January 27, 2023

Miroshnichenko started at left wing on the third line for Avangard and Trineyev started at left wing on the second line for Dynamo.

SHAVINGS

In the “Must See TV” category, keep an eye out on February 4 for Kevin Weekes’ one-hour interview with the Alex Ovechkin. The trailer alone is a good watch.

** BREAKING NEWS *** The Chase is on! As the Great 8 tries to catch the Great One, @Ovi8 sits down with yours truly as part of an exclusive 1-hour @NHL on @ESPN documentary #GR8TNESS Check out this fire trailer! Feb 4 2ET on @ABC @capitals #HockeyTwitter pic.twitter.com/bNXosxrN1q

— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) January 27, 2023

Alex Semin, who attended last night’s Capitals-Penguins game, also made a stop at former teammate Alex Ovechkin’s house last night.