Ovechkin could return to Capitals, resume Gretzky chase before holiday break

ARLINGTON, Va. – Alex Ovechkin’s chase of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goal record could resume soon.

Ovechkin won’t play when the Washington Capitals host the Carolina Hurricanes at Capital One Arena on Friday (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, MNMT, SN), but coach Spencer Carbery did not rule out that the 39-year-old left wing could return from a fractured left fibula prior to the NHL’s holiday break.

Washington hosts the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday before closing out its pre-Christmas schedule at the Boston Bruins on Monday.

“Won’t play tomorrow and then we'll sort of see how the next 48 hours go and see if there's a potential of him playing in one of those, L.A. or Boston,” Carbery said Thursday.

Ovechkin led the NHL with 15 goals in 18 games before he was injured against the Utah Hockey Club on Nov. 18. He now has 868 career NHL goals, 27 shy of Gretzky’s League record of 894. If Ovechkin doesn’t play before the holiday break, his next chance to return would come at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec. 28.

Ovechkin has missed 13 games since he was injured in a collision with Utah forward Jack McBain on Nov. 18. Washington announced on Nov. 20 that he was expected to miss 4-6 weeks.

Ovechkin resumed skating lightly on Dec. 2 and has been gradually increasing his workload since then. He practiced with the full team Thursday wearing a non-contact jersey and participated in a limited number of drills before finishing his day with a conditioning skate under the watch of strength and conditioning coach Zack Leddon.

The next step would be for him to begin doing contact drills, which could happen as soon as Washington’s morning skate on Friday.

“I think tomorrow it gets a little bit tricky with the lack of practice time, but that would be the next step of them giving him the green light to take part in some drills where there's some resistance and some contact,” Carbery said. “And if that were the case, … even if it's a pregame skate, we've got some extras that we can get him into some of those scenarios just to make sure everything checks out OK and he feels comfortable.

“Then, practice day Saturday, so it gives him a couple days to give him a chance. I'm not going to give a percentage or anything like that, but he's getting real close.”

Washington (21-8-2) has gone 8-4-1 in Ovechkin’s absence but lost its past two games and its offensive production has begun to slow without him. The Capitals were leading the NHL in scoring at 4.33 goals per game in 18 games before Ovechkin was injured. They have averaged 3.08 goals per game in 13 games without him (13th in the NHL), including 2.43 per game in their past seven, which ranks 27th.

So the Capitals are eager to get him back whenever he’s ready.

“I think we’ve missed him a little bit, especially of late, from a scoring standpoint,” Carbery said. “We’ve gone a little bit dry and I found at the beginning of the year when he was out there, especially when he’s scoring, it’s sort of an obvious statement that when he’s scoring guys feel really good. But also I do think there’s a part that when he’s out there and there’s the potential of him shooting it in the back of the net or getting a scoring chance, you can call me crazy, but I feel like it helps our other guys when they get in a shooting and scoring situation that they (know) ‘ ‘O’ is will find a way to get one tonight or he’s going to shoot it past this goaltender, he’s going to soften this goaltender up for us.’

“So, the scoring threat, I think, is huge for our team.”