Ovechkin day-to-day as opener approaches

Alex Ovechkin is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, the team announced Monday, less than two weeks before Washington's season opener. He's 40 years old and back for a 22nd season, so any preseason knock gets noted. For now, it's a watch-and-wait situation.

The timing is mildly inconvenient given everything else the Capitals are managing heading into camp. Rasmus Sandin's status on the blue line remains unresolved, Charlie Lindgren is still out, and the roster is already absorbing a lot of new pieces — Boone Jenner at center, Vincent Desharnais on defense — that need reps together. Missing Ovechkin from practice, even briefly, is one more variable.

The depth chart at left wing lists Pierre-Luc Dubois first, with Anthony Beauvillier behind him. That's the coverage if Ovechkin's situation drags into the regular season, which nobody is predicting yet. Day-to-day means day-to-day. Washington has enough to keep working in the meantime.