Ovechkin leaves practice early, remains day-to-day with lower-body injury

Alex Ovechkin took the ice for practice with his Washington Capitals teammates on Friday, but his morning session was short-lived.

Ovechkin left about 10 minutes later after chatting briefly with head coach Barry Trotz.

The Caps captain was trying to see if there was lingering pain from the injury that forced him to miss Thursday's 2-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild, Trotz told reporters Friday.

Ovechkin felt pain and left practice, Trotz said. The coach described the Capitals star as questionable for Saturday's game against the Buffalo Sabres.

"It's not a major injury," Trotz said. "It's minor."

Ovechkin is tied for the league points lead with 67 in 65 games.