Caps forward Tomas Fleischmann was back on the ice Tuesday for a morning practice at Kettler Capitals Iceplex. The 25-year-old had missed all of training camp and the first three weeks of the season with a blood clot in his left leg.
Now, Fleischmann didn’t participate in any contact drills during the first 20 minutes of practice. He is still working with team doctors to find a lower dosage of blood thinners that will allow him to take that next step. But a smiling Fleischmann did say he was just happy to be out on the ice with his teammates again – even if coach Bruce Boudreau put them all through a pretty hard skate.
Fleischmann was diagnosed with the clot in June. It likely formed during the long flight home to the Czech Republic last May a few days after the Caps’ season ended with a playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. There’s almost no way Fleischmann will play this weekend when the Caps have games in Atlanta and New York. He needs clearance for contact drills and to at least play in some legitimate scrimmages or even a game or two in the AHL with Washington’s minor-league affiliate in Hershey.
But his return is important. Remember, this is a guy who scored 19 goals last season. Only five Caps scored more. And while offense isn’t a problem for this group, Fleischmann would provide some balance to a lineup that’s been a little top heavy so far.
