Washington Capitals
Aliaksei Protas (upper body) participated in the morning skate and will return against the Sabres on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, MSG-B). The Capitals forward did not travel with them for a 7-3 loss at the New Jersey Devils on Thursday after missing a 6-4 loss at the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. Protas was injured in a collision with former teammate Nic Dowd in the first period of a 5-4 shootout win at the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. He has 47 points (23 goals, 24 assists) in 70 games this season. “I’m feeling great,” Protas said. “I don’t think it’s been bad; it’s more like the fact that I needed to stay off (the ice) a little bit, so now I’m feeling good.” … Ethen Frank will play for the first time since March 22, when the forward sustained a lower-body injury. Frank, who has 24 points (12 goals, 12 assists), was scratched the past two games despite being healthy enough to be in the lineup.