Alex Ovechkin is back with the Washington Capitals, eager to play hockey again while he and his family are still mourning the death of his father, Mikhail.

Ovechkin missed four games over the past week to fly to Moscow. He went straight from the airport to the team’s practice facility Wednesday after landing to take part in practice with an eye on returning to game action as soon as today.

“Obviously it was a hard week mentally, physically,” Ovechkin said after skating for roughly 45 minutes to get his conditioning back. “It was probably toughest situation I’ve been through my whole NHL career. But it’s life, and we move on.”

Ovechkin thanked the Capitals for their moment of silence dedicated to Mikhail prior to a game last week and for the support shown by members of the organization and fans. He said he got the chance to speak to his dad by video call before his death at age 71 last week.

ISLANDERS 2, JETS 1 >> Simon Holmstrom scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and Ilya Sorokin made 24 saves to lead New York over visiting Winnipeg. Sebastian Aho also scored for New York, which won for the third time in four games and extended its winning streak against Winnipeg to six games, dating to March 28, 2019. Connor Hellebuyck made 20 saves and Nikolaj Ehlers scored for Winnipeg, which completed its four-game trip (1-3) with a loss.