Ovechkin expected in Capitals' lineup for playoff opener after 3-game absence

Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin will be on the ice Tuesday night when Washington and the top-seeded Panthers open the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in Sunrise, Fla.

He missed the Capitals' final three regular-season games with an upper-body injury but returned to practice over the weekend.

"To be honest, I haven't really noticed anything different," Washington head coach Peter Laviolette said Tuesday. "He was a full participant. He wasn't held out of anything and he competed at full go, so just through the days leading up to this, I think his status becomes cleared and today he's good to go."

The Capitals were outscored 12-4 in the three games he missed.

The 36-year-old Ovechkin was injured April 24 in Washington's 4-3 shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He lost his footing after tripping over the stick of Maple Leafs goaltender Erik Kallgren and slammed into the boards with his left shoulder.

A three-time Hart Trophy recipient, Ovechkin leads the team in goals (50) and points (90) while playing in 77 games this season. He is 21 goals behind Hall of Famer Gordie Howe (801) for second all-time in NHL history.

Ovechkin has never missed a playoff game in his 17 seasons in the NHL.

"Alex always wants to play, but he was held out," Laviolette said. "It was just best for him. He wants to play all the time. You've got to love a guy like that. He always wants in the lineup. But he was dealing with some stuff and it [was] best just to move forward and have ready for Game 1, if we could get him ready for Game 1."

Yeo won't return to coach Flyers: GM

Mike Yeo will not be the head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers next season, general manager Chuck Fletcher announced Tuesday.

"I met with Mike [on Monday] and advised him he won't be our head coach for next season," Fletcher said.

Yeo, 48, was named the team's interim head coach on Dec. 6 after Alain Vigneault was fired following the Flyers' 8-10-4 start to the season.

Philadelphia posted a 17-36-7 record under Yeo's watch. The Flyers finished last in the Metropolitan Division, while their 61 points were the fourth fewest in the league behind the Montreal Canadiens (55), Arizona Coyotes (57) and expansion Seattle Kraken (60).

Yeo owns a 263-217-62 coaching record in 542 games with the Minnesota Wild (2011-16), St. Louis Blues (2016-19) and Flyers.

Preds 'trust, believe' in Rittich

Goaltender David Rittich will start Game 1 for the Nashville Predators with starter Juuse Saros sidelined by a lower-body injury.

Predators bench boss John Hynes announced the decision Tuesday, hours before their first-round series opener against the top-seeded Colorado Avalanche.

Saros is out for at least the first two games of the series after leaving a contest last Tuesday favoring his left leg. Saros won 38 games for the Predators this season.

The 29-year-old Rittich got the start over Connor Ingram, who's appeared in just three NHL games. Rittich was the winner when the Predators beat the Avalanche in a shootout last week at Ball Arena. He went 6-3-4 this season for Nashville.

"He's experienced. He's played more games in the league," Hynes said. "We trust him and believe in him."

This will be the second career playoff appearance for Rittich, who entered for Calgary during Game 6 of a first-round series against Dallas in 2020.

Colorado forward Nazem Kadri remains a game-time decision as he deals with an illness.