Capitals Notebook: Fehervary & Jensen Status, Who’s Out vs. NJ, Carlson Update

ARLINGTON, V.A. — After a day off and practice back home following a lengthy road swing, the Washington Capitals will be back in game action on Thursday against the New Jersey Devils.

Washington held a lightly attended ooptional skate ahead of Thursday's showdown, where John Carlson continued skating in a non-contact jersey while Nick Jensen and Martin Fehervary continued to work toward their respective recoveries from injuries suffered against the Anaheim Ducks.

Jensen was in a regular jersey, but since the skate was optional, it's unclear if this means anything with regard to whether he upgraded to full contact. He was in a non-contact sweater on Wednesday. As for Fehervary, he was a full go.

Per the team, Jensen remains day-to-day and will not play. Fehervary is a "potential game-time decision."

Ultimately, though, both Fehervary and Jensen stayed on long after the practice ended, skating with Aliaksei Protas and shooting on Charlie Lindgren. That indicates that both will be out and that Protas will be the extra forward and healthy scratch, with Craig Smith returning ready to go after missing Wednesday's practice to go back home and get his things. Meanwhile, Lindgren staying on and Darcy Kuemper not taking the optional at all likely signals that Kuemper will start against New Jersey.

If Fehervary doesn't play, Hershey Bears call-up Vincent Iorio will remain in the mix. The 20-year-old has played in two games so far for D.C., operating alongside Gabriel Carlsson and Alex Alexeyev.

As for Carlson, his return remains "off in the distance," but he has an important doctor's appointment this week. He will get another check-in and speak to reporters after that meeting, and the team hopes to get serious about him returning toward the end of the month.