The Washington Capitals don’t play until Thursday but on early Monday afternoon the team held a practice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex with some good news. Many players who have been absent all season were present. We even got to see Anthony Mantha practice in a light blue non contact jersey.
Mantha skated before the practice and it would become the first practice all season that the Caps had their full optimal lineup together. T.J. Oshie, Vitek Vanecek, and Justin Schultz were all on practice in full contact jerseys. All three have had upper body injuries with Oshie and Vanecek on injured reserve.
Mantha practiced with the group for the first time since undergoing shoulder surgery in November. Oshie has been out since Jan. 15, Vanecek since Feb. 1 and Schultz since last week.
It was a welcome sign seeing those guys back for many players including center Nicklas Backstrom:
"“All year it’s been guys in and out of the lineup, and we haven’t played with our full lineup this year, so it is nice to see. … It’s fun to see those guys out there. They obviously mean a lot to this team.”"
The Caps next game is Thursday night in New York against the Rangers. Head coach Peter Laviolette said it’s unclear what Oshie, Vanecek, or Schultz’s status is for that game. He did note that all three players improved over the break. The Caps will practice on Tuesday and Wednesday before departing for New York.
"“You get a lot of guys, four or five guys, that have been not around for at least a few days — some a lot longer than that — and you get them back on the ice, that’s a boost.”"
Oshie has had a bad season. Not necessarily on the stat sheet but because he hardly has been playing at all. He’s appeared in only 18 games including missing time in late October and November after injuring his foot while blocking a shot. Then he returned for one game then suffered another lower body injury.
Oshie would return in December but the bad luck would continue. He wound up on the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list. He skated by himself last week before joining his teammates today.
Backstrom added:
"“Obviously we miss him a lot. I mean, he’s a key player for this team and … always high energy. So, I mean, we missed him and look forward for him to get back in.”"
The Caps have two more practices before departing for New York. It’s going to be interesting to keep an eye on each of these guys’ progress.