On Monday, Mike Green completed a full practice with his teammates for the first time since injuring his right ankle on Oct. 22 against the Detroit Red Wings but that’s far from a guarantee that the defenseman might return to the lineup Tuesday night.
“We don’t want to rush him. We’re not going to rush him either,” Coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Everything would have to be perfect.”
Green skated on the Capitals’ off day Sunday and said he’s gradually seeing the strength return to his ankle but stressed that he doesn’t want to return before he is healthy enough to not put the team at risk.
“I don’t want to be a liability on the ice,” Green said. “And I’ve only had one really good skate here, so for me to just jump back in wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing…if I’m going to be a liability. If I think I am [a liability] then I don’t think I should play. If I don’t, then I’ll play.”
While Green said he’ll take part in Tuesday’s morning skate and although he continues to improve, don’t bank on him returning against the Dallas Stars just yet.
“He’s getting a lot closer,” Boudreau said. “We haven’t made any decisions one way or another on it, but he took full practice today and he felt a lot better. He was taking some power-play time so we’ll sleep on it and see how it goes.”
