Ovechkin skates with Capitals for first time in Phase 2

Alex Ovechkin skated with the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

The forward had been skating and training in Florida before joining his teammates at MedStar Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Virginia, as part of Phase 2 of the NHL Return to Play Plan, which started June 8 and allows limited voluntary workouts with small groups at team facilities.

The Capitals tweeted a video of Ovechkin on the ice. He was joined by forwards Lars Eller, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Garnet Hathaway, defenseman John Carlson, and goalie Braden Holtby.

Ovechkin tied David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins with 48 goals to lead the NHL and win the Rocket Richard Trophy for a record ninth time.

Washington is one of 24 teams that will compete for the Stanley Cup. The tournament will begin with the Stanley Cup Qualifiers, which will include the Capitals as part a round-robin among the top four teams in each conference to determine seeds for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and 16 teams paired in eight best-of-5 series. Dates and the two hub cities -- one for the 12 participating Eastern Conference teams, one for the 12 Western Conference teams -- have not been announced.

The Capitals will play the Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers once each.

Ovechkin was working out with his personal trainer, Pavel Burlachenko, who arrived from Russia shortly before the NHL paused the season March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus. Ovechkin skated this month at a rink in Pembroke Pines, Florida, with a group of players that included New York Rangers rookie goalie Igor Shesterkin, Colorado Avalanche defenseman Nikita Zadorov, and Florida Panthers forward Evgenii Dadonov.

"He sounds really good and excited to get back up and going and likes the chances our team has and knows it's going to be very unpredictable, obviously," Capitals coach Todd Reirden said of Ovechkin on June 15. "First time for anyone in the NHL going through something like this. He's in a really good spot mentally and physically and I think really we're fortunate that his trainer, who I think a lot of, Pavel, is able to be spending this entire time with him."

NHL staff writer Tom Gulitti contributed to this report

Photo courtesy: Washington Capitals