The Washington Capitals are returning from their 4 Nations ... Expect a conditioning stint with the AHL's Hershey Bears when he does eventually start to work his way back into the mix.

Ilya Protas (Washington Capitals) opened the scoring just five minutes in and was quickly followed by veteran Noah Morneau and rookie Ethan Garden ... final shots were 40-25 Spitfires.

But the Capitals are officially on watch. Should Connor McDavid be getting more calls? Yes. Absolutely. No question. Anyone who watches him regularly can see that. And the numbers bear that out ...

The Bears (25-11-4, 54 points), who are now 6-1-1 ... Hershey standout goalie Hunter Shepard, back from his stint with the Washington Capitals, played one of his better games, according to Nelson.

Gone are the days of debate surrounding which useful veteran would serve the Penguins best, instead replaced by the current state of the 2024-25 ... Washington relegated him to the Hershey Bears ...

For Washington ... the 2024-25 season with 20 goals in 35 games. However, the Bears’ season continued without him because he got the call on Jan. 10 and made his NHL debut for the Capitals ...

Gone are the days of debate surrounding which useful veteran would serve the Penguins best, instead replaced by the current state of the 2024-25 Penguins ... but only 27 this season, and Washington ...

The NHL has reached a break in their schedule for the 4 Nations Face-Off and the Washington ... Capitals sit as the NHL’s best team, a place they weren’t expected to be in heading into the ...