Photo credit: Bruce Bennett

Jack Hillen‘s knee was pinned between the boards and Calgary’s Lance Bouma as Bouma out all his weight into the hit. Just eight minutes into Thursday’s home opener, Hillen was hurt and needed assistance to leave the ice, unable to put any weight on his leg.

GIF by Ian Oland

The injury appears significant, which is awful news for Jack Hillen, who missed 25 games last season with a shoulder injury. Hillen is not expected to return to tonight’s game. The Capitals, deep with defensive players of varying quality, will play the rest of the game vs Calgary with five D.

Photo credit: Bruce Bennett

Bouma was compelled to fight Washington’s Tom Wilson immediately after the hit. And just two minutes after that momentum-shifting scuffle, the Flames struck again as Lee Stempniak beat Braden Holtby to make it 2-0.

So yeah, not a great night so far. Best wishes to Jack Hillen and his knee.

Photo credit: Bruce Bennett