Ovechkin a game-time decision for season opener vs. Rangers originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Alex Ovechkin is a game-time decision for the Capitals opener on Wednesday against the New York Rangers with a lower-body injury.
Ovechkin said he did not know if he was playing. When asked if that meant he was a game-time decision, he said, "Yeah, you can write that on the Twitter."
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Ovechkin suffered the injury in Washington's preseason finale on a hit against Philadelphia Flyers forward Travis Konecny. Ovechkin did not practice Sunday or Monday, but took part in Tuesday's optional skate.
In Wednesday's morning skate, he was in his normal position on the top line, which is generally a good indication that he will be playing.
"It doesn't matter what kind of injury, you always try to be safe," Ovechkin said.
He added, "We'll see. We still have time to make a decision."
Hendrix Lapierre, 19, will make his NHL debut skating at center on the third line after an impressive preseason.
Laviolette also revealed that Vitek Vanecek will get the start in net.
"Just thought his camp, for me, I thought it was really good," Laviolette said. "Separated himself a little bit. For that, he gets the opportunity to start."
Here's a look at the lines from the morning skate:
Alex Ovechkin - Evgeny Kuznetsov - Tom Wilson
Anthony Mantha - Lars Eller - Daniel Sprong
Conor Sheary - Hendrix Lapierre - T.J. Oshie
Carl Hagelin - Nic Dowd - Garnet Hathaway
Martin Fehervary - John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov - Nick Jensen
Trevor van Riemsdyk - Justin Schultz
Goalie: Vitek Vanecek
