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John Carlson Out Indefinitely

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It largely went under the radar last night with Alex Ovechkin passing Gordie Howe for second in all-time NHL goals but Capitals defenseman John Carlson was taken to the hospital yesterday after taking a Brenden Dillon slap shot directly to the head early in the third period.  Today, the team announced (Twitter link) the following update:

John Carlson was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation following his injury during the third period of Friday’s game vs. WPG. Carlson was discharged from the hospital earlier today and remains under the care of team medical personnel. He is out indefinitely.

The fact that Carlson has been discharged is certainly promising but an indefinite timeline is hardly ideal for a Washington team that is narrowly holding onto the second and final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.  The 32-year-old leads all Capitals blueliners with 21 points in 30 games while logging over 23 minutes per game for the sixth straight season.

With Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson both starting to make progress toward returning, it looked like the Capitals were finally starting to get some good luck on the injury side of things.  Now, that optimism has been quelled somewhat with Carlson potentially being out for a little while now.

Alex Ovechkin Named First Star Of The Week

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With no games scheduled until Tuesday, the NHL has gone ahead and released its Three Stars for this past week.  Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin took home the top nod after recording six points in three games, including two goals against Winnipeg to put him in sole possession of second in NHL history with 802.  Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev was the Second Star after a trio of extra-time victories that saw him post a 0.94 GAA along with a .965 SV%.  Meanwhile, Canucks center Elias Pettersson earned the last spot of the group after tying for the most assists (five) and points (seven) on the week which is particularly impressive considering he missed Vancouver’s first game of the week due to illness.

Evening Notes: Kane, Motte, Chartier, Ovechkin

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Earlier today, The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus wrote a piece comparing and contrasting the position the Chicago Blackhawks are in as compared to the Nashville Predators. Lazerus advocated that Chicago’s position, in the depths of a full-scale rebuild, was more enviable than the Predators, who have several large contracts on the books for years to come, preventing them from building on it, while the team’s core hasn’t had much playoff success. As compelling as Lazerus’ article was, another interesting element was who he chose to talk to on these thoughts: Blackhawks superstar Patrick Kane.

Lazerus discusses the idea with Kane, stating the winger has “’future general manager’ written all over him.” Kane’s response to that sentiment was rather intriguing as well, telling Lazerus he might be interested in something in the front office down the road, but once retirement comes around, he’d like to focus on being a dad and give his partner, Amanda, a break. That, presumably, is still a ways away for the 34-year-old, who is still playing elite level hockey and is expected to be an expensive asset at this year’s trade deadline, and again on this summer’s free agent market. Should he stick with Chicago and work his way up in their front office, an on-ice legend becoming GM not only wouldn’t be unheard of, but in today’s NHL would put him along some of the best executives in the game, including Joe Sakic and Steve Yzerman.

  • The Ottawa Senators enjoyed an exciting game this evening against the Washington Capitals, even if they did wind up losing in overtime, but it unfortunately came at an even greater cost. The team lost forward Tyler Motte in the first period to an upper-body injury, and just moments later, forward Rourke Chartier was forced to leave the game, also with an upper-body injury. Overall, Ottawa did well for itself this evening considering they were forced to play down two men for a majority of the game. Now their attention will towards both injured players moving forward. Motte, a strong two-way player, has nine points through 31 games this season while Chartier was playing in just his sixth NHL game of the season. The Senators will have some extra time to deal with their injuries, tomorrow’s game cancelled amid a poor weather forecast, next playing December 27th.
  • Alex Ovechkin has hit another impressive milestone. It wasn’t the one most fans were hoping for this evening, just one goal behind Gordie Howe for second all-time. However, with his sixth shot this evening, the legendary forward passed Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque for most shots-on-goal all-time. Bourque previously held the record with 6,209 shots on goal. Considering Ovechkin is still motoring on as good as he’s ever been, and each shot being a new record, time will merely tell if his final number is a record even remotely breakable.

Washington Capitals Activate Alexander Alexeyev

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According to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, the Washington Capitals have activated defenseman Alexander Alexeyev off of IR today. The defenseman is listed as a healthy scratch for tonight’s game against the Ottawa Senators. The Capitals haven’t formally announced the transaction, however Alexeyev is listed as healthy on the team’s roster page.

Alexeyev landed on IR back on December 11th with an upper-body injury, the recipient of an illegal hit from Jamie Oleksiak of the Seattle Kraken. Oleksiak was suspended three games for the hit.

The defenseman has played sparingly this season, having dealt with a pair of injuries, opening the season on IR. Alexeyev made his season debut on November 9th. He wouldn’t play again for nearly a month, but played four consecutive games prior to suffering this injury. In five NHL games this year, Alexeyev has one point, an assist, which was the first of his NHL career. The 24-year-old played four AHL games this season as well, recording an assist in the process there too.

Tom Wilson Practices In Regular Jersey; Will Not Travel With Team

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Despite a strong 7-2-1 run in their last ten, the Washington Capitals remain in sixth place in the tough Metro, four points out of a divisional playoff spot. As they chase down the teams ahead of them, though some reinforcements are coming. Tom Wilson donned a regular jersey at practice today and skated on a line with Nicklas Backstrom and Alex Ovechkin, though the return for the first two is still a little way down the road. Wilson and Backstrom will not travel with the team to Ottawa according to Samantha Pell of the Washington Post, though Nic Dowd, Alex Alexeyev, and Darcy Kuemper will.

Wilson, 28, is one of the most unique players in the league, able to contribute at a high level offensively while still acting like a pseudo-enforcer on the ice. Racking up at least 93 penalty minutes in each of his nine NHL seasons, he had 24 goals and 52 points in 78 games last season. Since the Capitals never put him on long-term injured reserve, they can activate him without worrying about cap implications. Backstrom, whose $9.2MM cap hit has sat on LTIR all year, is a different story; the team will need to clear quite a bit to get him back on the roster.

Washington Capitals Activate Darcy Kuemper

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The Washington Capitals activated goalie Darcy Kuemper off injured reserve Monday afternoon, according to a team release. In corresponding transactions, they also returned netminders Zachary Fucale and Hunter Shepard to the AHL’s Hershey Bears.

Washington’s been without Kuemper since December 3, when he sustained an upper-body injury in a loss against the Calgary Flames. The 32-year-old has been inconsistent at times with the Capitals but still has strong numbers overall. Despite an 8-9-2 record, he’s still managed a respectable .916 save percentage, 2.56 goals against average, and two shutouts in 20 appearances.

Backup Charlie Lindgren started every game in Kuemper’s two-week absence and did not disappoint. Not including his relief appearance against Calgary, Lindgren helped get Washington solidly back into playoff contention with a .938 save percentage and a 6-1-0 record in his past seven games.

Some were excited to potentially see the 27-year-old Shepard get his first NHL start, but it wasn’t to be. He returns to Hershey, where he has yet to lose in regulation through eight games.

Hershey Bears Recall Tyler Wall From ECHL In Wake Of Shepard, Fucale Recalls; Send Martin Has To ECHL

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  • Many don’t necessarily think about when an NHL team chooses to recall a player from their affiliate, it could set off a chain reaction of needs within their system, and that’s just what happened with the Washington Capitals and their goaltenders. When Darcy Kuemper went down a couple of weeks ago, the team recalled Hunter Shepard, which Hershey was able to cope with by recalling Clay Stevenson from the ECHL. No problem. But, when Washington also recalled Zachary Fucale yesterday in the wake of Shepard’s upper-body injury, Hershey was forced to sign an emergency back-up to a PTO for their game last night. Today, the Bears were able to smooth things out in net prior to their game against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this afternoon, bringing up netminder Tyler Wall from the South Carolina Stingrays, Hershey and Washington’s ECHL affiliate. In a corresponding move, defenseman Martin Has has been sent to South Carolina. While this is a relatively minor move, it does give context for the transactions NHL teams make that sometimes seem to be done just for the sake of doing them.

T.J. Oshie Listed As Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury

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  • After Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie exited last night’s game, many wondered if the veteran had re-aggravated the injury that has forced him to miss fairly significant time this season and last. Though a clearer picture on his injury isn’t available, The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell reports that Oshie is now listed as day-to-day, perhaps a fortunate break for Washington. Oshie, who turns 36 in a few days, did not participate in the Capitals’ optional skate this morning, which might be expected even in a best-case scenario.

T.J. Oshie Exits Saturday's Game With Upper-Body Injury

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  • Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie left tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs with an upper-body injury and did not return, per a team announcement. According to the Capitals, Oshie will be re-evaluated tomorrow. What exactly happened to the veteran is unclear, however he did return to the Capitals bench, but declined to actually sit before later heading down the tunnel gingerly.

Nic Dowd, Hunter Shepard Ruled Out For Saturday

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  • Washington Capitals forward Nic Dowd will miss tonight’s game with a lower-body injury, reports The Athletics Tarik El-Bashir. It’s unclear what exactly is ailing Dowd or how serious the injury might be, however he did leave Thursday’s game a touch early, playing just 9:39 in the game, down from his season average of 13:03. Also of note, goaltender Hunter Shepard has been ruled out of tonight’s game with an upper-body injury, which would explain the team’s earlier recall of netminder Zachary Fucale.

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