WASHINGTON (AP) — The banged-up Washington Capitals could be getting a couple of their most important players back in time for the start of the playoffs or at least sometime in the first round.
Goaltender Logan Thompson has resumed skating, and forward Aliaksei Protas is on track to get back on the ice this week, coach Spencer Carbery said Sunday before the home finale against Columbus.
Thompson has been out with what the team is calling an upper-body injury, after leaving a game on April 2 at Carolina following a shot from Sean Walker that knocked off his mask. Carbery said Thompson skated on his own but did not face shots, which is a step in the process of returning.
Protas got an inadvertent skate cut on the top of his left foot April 4 against Chicago and has been walking around in a boot with the aid of crutches.
“He'll be a little bit longer,” Carbery said. “Hoping that he touches the ice at some point this week."
Washington is locked into the top spot in the Eastern Conference and visits the New York Islanders on Tuesday night and Pittsburgh on Thursday night to finish the regular season. The playoffs will begin at home either next Sunday or Monday, April 21, against the Montreal Canadiens or the Blue Jackets.
Who starts in net for that Game 1 remains a question. Charlie Lindgren has shouldered the load since Thompson was injured. He has an .866 save percentage since replacing Thompson against the Hurricanes, though much of that has been a result of mistakes and missed coverage in front of him.
“Right now just from a results standpoint, I want to let in less goals, 100%,” Lindgren said last week. “I don’t like letting in three goals every single game. I want to get that number down. ... Just trying to figure out ways to work on my game and better myself because as we know goaltending in the playoffs goes a long way, and I want to make sure I’m doing my job and doing the best I can to put the team in the best situation possible.”
Thompson is having a career season, winning 31 of his 42 starts with a 2.49 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage. In late January, the 28-year-old signed a six-year, $35.1 million contract extension through the 2030-31 NHL season.
Protas, who's under contract through 2029 at a bargain price of $3.375 million annually, has shattered his career highs with 30 goals, 36 assists and 66 points. Before this season, the 24-year-old had 55 points in his first 173 regular-season and playoff games in the league.
Carbery is trying to balance resting some older players versus getting the Capitals, who have lost six of their past nine games, ready for the postseason. Alex Ovechkin was a healthy scratch Saturday after getting honored Thursday night for breaking Wayne Gretzky's career goals record, and No. 1 defenseman John Carlson got the night off Sunday.
“We’re just looking at it from an individual preparation standpoint," Carbery said. "John, a veteran player. (He has) played a lot this year. I think he’s played every single game. We’re playing a back to back. I feel like it’s important for him to not play both and take today off.”
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FILE - Washington Capitals center Aliaksei Protas (21) celebrates with goaltender Logan Thompson (48) after an NHL hockey game against the Detroit Red Wings, Friday, March 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)
FILE - Washington Capitals center Aliaksei Protas, left, is congratulated by goaltender Logan Thompson (48) after scoring against the San Jose Sharks during the first period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, March 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar, File)
McKINNEY, Texas (AP) — Court documents detailing the divorce of Republican U.S. Senate candidate and Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and his wife, state Sen. Angela Paxton, were released Friday by order of a judge, months after she filed citing “biblical grounds.”
The initial batch of documents showed that Angela Paxton sought the divorce on the grounds that Ken Paxton had committed adultery, but included no additional details. She had previously referenced “recent discoveries” when announcing the filing on social media in July. In a separate filing, Ken Paxton denied the allegations in the divorce petition. More records could still be released under an agreement between the Paxtons and a coalition of media outlets to make the documents public.
“It’s a victory, I think, for the American public and for the Texas voters,” Tyler Bexley, an attorney for the media intervenors, told reporters after the judge ordered the documents unsealed.
The divorce and the surrounding speculation have only fueled attacks against Paxton in one of the nation’s most heated Republican primaries as he seeks to unseat Sen. John Cornyn. Whether the divorce details resonate with voters remains to be seen, with the Senate primary set for March 3 next year. Despite years of controversy, the three-term attorney general has remained competitive in the race, which includes Rep. Wesley Hunt.
The divorce comes after 38 years of marriage, during which Angela Paxton had supported her husband through a series of legal troubles, including state and federal corruption investigations. A state securities fraud indictment against Ken Paxton was dismissed after a 2024 plea deal in which he agreed to pay restitution and complete community service, and the Justice Department dropped a federal corruption probe earlier this year.
Angela Paxton also stood by Ken Paxton's side during that impeachment trial, which publicly exposed his extramarital affair. The 2023 impeachment trial ended in an acquittal for him.
Paxton’s support in Texas has remained strong amid a decade of legal troubles. He won reelection in 2022 by nearly 10 percentage points.
Paxton launched his bid to unseat Cornyn in April and has since drawn attacks from Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, with some in the party concerned that while Paxton could prevail in the GOP primary, he may complicate the general election and force national Republicans to spend heavily to hold the seat. On the Democratic side, U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett and state Rep. James Talarico are facing off in their party’s primary.
Groups supporting Cornyn have spent more than $21 million on television ads this year, according to AdImpact, to promote the four-term senator and attack Paxton.
“What Ken Paxton has put his family through is truly repulsive and disgusting,” National Republican Senatorial Committee spokesperson Joanna Rodriguez said in July. “No one should have to endure what Angela Paxton has, and we pray for her as she chooses to stand up for herself and her family during this difficult time.”
Paxton has been a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, while Cornyn has at times drawn criticism within his own party for working with Democrats. Trump’s endorsement is expected to be a decisive factor in Texas, which he won in 2024 by nearly 14 percentage points. Trump has not yet endorsed in the race.
Judge Robert Brotherton approved the agreement on Friday to release the records, which had been originally sealed at the Paxtons’ request shortly after Angela Paxton filed. Media outlets sued to have them released.
“If there’s new information that hasn’t been released publicly yet, we certainly think the voters have the right to know that when they are making decisions in the upcoming elections,” Bexley said Friday.
Follow the AP's coverage of Ken Paxton at https://apnews.com/hub/ken-paxton.
FILE - Texas state Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, wife of suspended Texas state Attorney General Ken Paxton, walks through the Senate Chamber during the impeachment trial for her husband at the Texas Capitol, Sept. 16, 2023, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay, File)
FILE - Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, right, listens as his wife, Texas State Sen. Angela Paxton, speaks to anti-abortion activists at a rally outside the Supreme Court in Washington on Nov. 1, 2021. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
