The 36-year-old forward will be out a third straight game when the Capitals play the New York Rangers at Madison Sqaure Garden on Friday (7 p.m. ET; MSG, NBCSWA, ESPN+, NHL LIVE).
He did not play in a 5-1 loss to the Islanders at UBS Arena on Thursday and a 4-1 loss ot the Islanders at Capital One Arena on Tuesday. but said he's hopeful he'll be ready for the start of the playoffs, likely May 2 or May 3.
"He had a good day today," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said Thursday. "He won't play tonight, but he had a good day today."
"I don't know what tomorrow will bring. That's the best description I can give you, he had a good day out there. He moved well, he passed, he shot, skated, felt good. Tomorrow when we go to work, we'll see where everything's at at that point."
Oveckhin skated with the Capitals on Thursday.
"I feel pretty good. We'll see," Ovechkin told NBC Sports Washington before the game Tuesday. "I'm not going to say yes or no, but right now we just made a decision to not play (tonight) and we'll see what's going to happen next game."
Laviolette said on his weekly spot on 106.7 FM in Washington on Wednesday that Ovechkin would not have been able to play Tuesday if it had been Game 1 of the playoffs.
"I don't believe it's long-term," Laviolette said. "So I think day to day is the right terminology. Alex is in there getting treatment and trying to get himself in a position where he can come back and help us."
Ovechkin was injured during a 4-3 shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday. He tripped over the stick of Maple Leafs goalie Erik Kallgren and crashed his left shoulder first into the end boards after failing to score on a breakaway 1:58 into the third period.
Washington didn't practice Monday and Ovechkin didn't participate in the morning skate Tuesday.
"Alex is day to day, and I think we're going to evaluate it and do the best thing for Alex," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said.
The Capitals (44-25-12) have clinched a playoff berth and enter Friday as the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. They trail the Pittsburgh Penguins by one point for third place in the Metropolitan Division. They will play either the Rangers or the Florida Panthers in the first round of the playoffs.
Ovechkin, who is fourth in the NHL and leads the Capitals with 50 goals this season, has missed 26 regular-season games during his 17 NHL seasons because of injury and has never missed a playoff game. He's sat out an additional 20 regular-season games because of suspensions and illness. He's played 78 of Washington's 81 games this season, sitting out two while in NHL COVID-19 protocol.
"Honestly, his style of play, you're going to get injured," Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom said. "But I just think mentally he's so strong. He plays through everything. It's just the way he is as a guy. He doesn't miss games. And it doesn't matter how hurt he is. He's one of those guys you can always count on."
So when Ovechkin misses a game, it raises a red flag. He sat out an NHL career-high 11 games last season, including four while in COVID-19 protocol and a stretch of seven out of eight with a groin injury before returning for the regular-season finale against the Bruins.
"Well, there's always concern," Laviolette said. "This popped up at the end of last year. We ended up dinging up some guys right at the end of the season. We were in a really good spot. We got dinged up a little bit and those things nagged in and you want to go in as healthy as you can and put your best foot forward with a healthy lineup. It was a little bit tough last year with some of the things that happened, but that's what happens.
"So like I said, hopefully Alex returns to the lineup soon and everybody else can stay the course here, get through these games and move on to the playoffs."
