Center Marcus Johansson practiced with the team in a gray non-contact jersey on Friday, a sign he’s improving after an upper-body injury that has kept him out for two games. Defenseman Brooks Orpik, who’s missed 35 games with a lower-body injury, also practiced Friday, and he and Johansson will likely travel with the team on their three-game road swing to Nashville, Minnesota and Dallas next week.
Orpik and Johansson won’t play in the Capitals’ games on Saturday and Sunday, and with both games being matinee puck drops with no morning skate, the two will skate on their own over the weekend.