Jay Beagle returned to practice with the Washington Capitals on Tuesday and expects to be able to play on Thursday in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Beagle took a shot from St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko off the inside of his left foot midway through the first period on Saturday and did not return to the game. He did not play in the regular-season finale against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday, and players did not practice on Monday.
Coach Barry Trotz and general manager Brian MacLellan had each said in recent days that Beagle would be day to day. The Capitals recalled Zach Sill from the Hershey Bears to play against the Ducks on Sunday, but he was sent back to the minor league on Monday morning.
“I knew I could have went Sunday, so it was just one of those things where an extra day of resting and treatment always helps,” Beagle said.
Beagle was slotted as the fourth-line center in Tuesday’s practice, dropping a line with Mike Richards moving to the third line.
“Obviously, you never want to go down near the end of the season, but the training staff does a good job of making sure everything’s 100 percent,” Beagle said. “We just took precautionary measures in the last game. That’s all it was. I was ready to go. We just didn’t want to chance anything, and it felt great today, so ready to go and excited.”
Only Beagle’s status remained uncertain as the Capitals enter the playoffs. Every other player is expected to be available when the series begins.
“I expect us going into Game 1 as healthy as we’ve been all year,” Trotz said.
• Zac Boyer can be reached at zboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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