The Washington Capitals are exactly 10 days away from their 2026-27 regular-season opener against the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes, but they still have two preseason games remaining.

The Caps have already played two exhibition contests, and Alex Ovechkin was absent from both a 3-2 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins on Sunday and a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.

It now looks like the greatest goal scorer in NHL history might not play at all this month as he nurses a lower-body injury, head coach Spencer Carbery told reporters.

“Right now, we'll see how it goes this week,” the bench boss said. “We'll be off tomorrow and then we'll come back and have two practice days, so I'll be able to give you a more accurate update (after that) on when we see him play and how many games.”

The 41-year-old did not practice Monday, marking the second straight day he remained off the ice, and is considered day-to-day.

A shortened preseason ahead of a new 84-game schedule certainly doesn't provide much time to evaluate talent. Most teams are already deploying lineups resembling their opening-night rosters with the regular season set to begin Sept. 29.

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The Capitals welcome the Bruins to Capital One Arena on Friday after traveling to TD Garden over the weekend. They'll visit Philadelphia the following night to conclude the exhibition portion of their schedule at Xfinity Mobile Arena.

Whether Ovechkin suits up for either contest, the hope in the nation's capital is that The Great Eight will be fully healthy when the regular season begins next Friday.

Washington opens the campaign with back-to-back road games against the Hurricanes and Tampa Bay Lightning before beginning a three-game homestand. The Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers and Seattle Kraken will visit Capital One Arena between Oct. 7 and Oct. 11.

Another update on Ovechkin's status should arrive later this week, and it'll be interesting to see whether he can return to the lineup against Boston or Philadelphia.

The 929-goal scorer didn't miss a game in 2025-26, recording 32 goals and 32 assists during a rare non-playoff campaign for Washington. With Ovechkin potentially entering his final NHL season and several key new faces in town, the Capitals are looking for nothing less than another championship run.