Over his illustrious career, Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green has often put himself in a vulnerable position on the ice; hence his history of injury. On Saturday night, Green left the game in the third period after suffering what the Caps PR called an upper-body injury.
#Caps Mike Green sustained an upper body injury and will not return to tonight's game. He is listed as day-to-day.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) November 23, 2014
Green likely got injured in the first period, after putting his head down in neutral and absorbing a hip check by 6’4″ defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen.
It appears Green’s right ribs and shoulder absorbed most of Ristolainen’s hit. Then Green’s lower back ricocheted off the glass and boards. He struggled to get back to his feet. Green would take regular shifts afterwards, until succumbing to the injury early in the third period.
Mike Green has taken one shift in the third period. It was 27 seconds long and ended at 17:15. #Caps
— Adam Vingan (@AdamVingan) November 23, 2014
Without Green on the ice, Matt Niskanen scored in his spot on the power play, but this could be a major loss if he misses extended time. Green has been the Capitals best defenseman this season.
10:10 PM Update: Trotz was vague in his post-game press conference when asked about Green’s injury. According to The Washington Post’s Alex Prewitt, Trotz said he believed Green got hurt early in the second period.
https://twitter.com/alex_prewitt/status/536355376804139009
10:30 PM Update: I just re-watched the first half of the second period. Green was not touched or checked at all during the early half of the period. If he got injured then like Trotz claims, there was no play that revealed itself to be the smoking gun.
Just re-watched first half of 2nd period. Mike Green went practically untouched, did not look like he suffered injury then.
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) November 23, 2014
10:55 PM Update: So maybe it happened late in the second period? Looking into it.
https://twitter.com/alex_prewitt/status/536364902106275840
11:10 PM Update: It appears Trotz may be right. After a defensive zone face-off with 2:28 left in the second period, Green tied up Marcus Foligno’s stick in the right circle. As Foligno disengages, he swings his stick and catches Green’s right knee as he tries to pivot. Green looks pained, and struggles to skate up the ice. He stayed on for the rest of his shift though.
11:30 PM Update: Green did not take a third period shift, as reported by NHL stats (17:42 – 17:15 left in third period). Green’s first shift of the period was taken by John Carlson.
@alex_prewitt The shift they credit to Green in the third – looks like it was Carlson. Green didn't skate after 2nd http://t.co/FfxIZJMKUs
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) November 23, 2014
@alex_prewitt Carlson skated with Schmidt – here's proof pic.twitter.com/tkNTyG9JBn
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) November 23, 2014
11:45 Update: WNST.net’s Ed Frankovic (who is awesome) pointed out another tough hit Green absorbed mid-way through the second period.
@ianoland @alex_prewitt check out the hard hit he took from 44 with 8:37 left in 2nd too. Could've been cumulative effect of hits.
— Ed Frankovic (@EdFrankovic) November 23, 2014
Here’s the GIF. Green also looks uncomfortable here, favoring his right shoulder (where he earlier absorbed a hit in the first period from Ristolainen).
