Captain Alex Ovechkin is one of four members of the Washington Capitals expected to miss the next four games due to COVID-19 protocols, according to head coach Peter Laviolette.

Ovechkin, alongside Ilya Samsonov, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Dmitry Orlov, were placed on the COVID-19 related absence list Wednesday night shortly after the Capitals were fined $100,000 by the NHL for for violating coronavirus protocols.

Laviolette said there was a positive test among the Capitals players and all four players are in quarantine.

"We totally understand why the rules are in place and there's no arguing with that. We want to be compliant. We made a mistake and we need to do a better job," said the coach. 

The Capitals were punished by the league for “social interactions among team members who were in close contact and who were not wearing face coverings."