Aliaksei Protas could be back in the Washington Capitals’ lineup for Game 4 against the Montreal Canadiens.
The 24-year-old forward completed another full skate with his teammates on Saturday afternoon without issue. Head coach Spencer Carbery sounded positive about Protas’s potential availability when he met with the media after the practice at Bell Centre.
“Yeah, he’s full-go in practice, so we’ll just see tomorrow,” Carbery said. “Everything is looking good, he’s out there taking contact and that, so we’ll just see tomorrow.”
Protas missed the Capitals’ last nine games due to a skate-cut injury suffered on April 1 — the final six of the regular season and the first three games of the team’s first-round playoff series against the Canadiens. His first time back on the ice was less than a week ago at MedStar Capitals Iceplex on April 20.
Monumental Sports Network’s Tarik El-Bashir posted video of Protas participating in board-work battle drills with skills coach Kenny McCudden. El-Bashir also reports that Protas has been wearing shot blocker guards on his skates for extra protection after suffering the skate cut.
Protas was a vital piece of the Capitals’ lineup during the regular season, recording a career-best 66 points (30g, 36a) in 76 games. The Caps could use his two-way ability to help slow down Montreal’s torrid top line of Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, and Juraj Slafkovsky, who all scored in a 6-3 Habs win on Friday night.
With Protas on the ice this year, the Capitals saw 53.6 percent of shot attempts, 51.6 percent of expected goals, and 54.4 percent of high-danger chances. In three games against the Canadiens, Protas recorded four points (1g, 3a).
Carbery will be forced to sit one of his forwards if Protas does return on Sunday. The leading candidates, based on average ice time per game in the series and their lack of cemented special teams roles, are rookie forward Ryan Leonard (11:33), Taylor Raddysh (12:08), and Andrew Mangiapane (12:05).
Game 4 is set for a 6:30 pm puck drop inside the rowdy Bell Centre.
