The Washington Capitals were the best team in the Eastern Conference in 2024-25, but it has been a disappointing season for the team this year. As Alex Ovechkin continues to hit milestones, the Caps find themselves outside of the playoff picture.
The Capitals have made a recent run and are now within striking distance of a playoff spot with eight games left to play. Still, those hopes took a hit on Monday, as it was an update on the injury to Aliaksei Protas was given, per Sammi Silber of The Hockey News.
Protas will be out “a little bit of time,” according to head coach Spencer Carbery. He was injured in a head-on collision on Saturday while facing the Vegas Golden Knights. The Capitals would come away with a 5-4 win, ending their three game west coach swing 2-1-0.
Protas has been playing as the top line right wing much of this year, and has been playing great. He has found the back of the net 23 times while dishing 24 assists. His 47 points are fifth on the team. Further, he has been a major part of the penalty kill and has three shorthanded points this year.
The Capitals took to the ice Monday morning for a short practice, in which Pierre-Luc Dubois also took the day off for maintenance. With Protas out, Connor McMichael jumped up to the lop line in practice, joining Ovechkin and Dylan Strome. The Caps also places Ethen Frank on the second line, replacing McMichael, and joining Hendrix Lapierre and Tom Wilson.
The Capitals are 37-28-9 on the year, which is good for sixth in the Metropolitan Division. With eight games left to play, they are just five points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins for playoff spots. The team returns to the ice on Tuesday night against the Philadelphia Flyers, who are currently three points in front of Washington in the East.
