The Washington Capitals are flying high despite missing one of their key forwards.

Andre Burakovsky, who suffered an upper-body injury which required a surgical procedure to fix, missed the final four games of the Caps first-round series against the Blue Jackets.

Wednesday morning, Barry Trotz gave an update on the Burracuda and said the forward is out “week-to-week.”

Andre Burakovsky “is week to week” but will start skating fairly quickly, Barry Trotz says. Not ruled out for series.

— Brian McNally (@bmcnally14) April 25, 2018

Trotz would not rule out the possibility that Burakovsky could return at some point during the Caps-Pens series. Burakovsky will begin skating again soon.

Trotz said Burakovsky is “week-to-week.” Wouldn’t say if he would be available for this series. Hasn’t started skating yet, but will soon.

— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) April 25, 2018

Burakovsky was injured during Game Two after an awkward hit into the boards.

In an initial hint of its severity, Burakovsky did not even travel with the team for Games Three and Four in Columbus.

Last Friday, Trotz announced Burakovsky needed a minor surgery and would miss the rest of the Columbus series.

Cap coach Barry Trotz said Andre Burakovsky (upper body) is out for remainder of series vs. Columbus and needs minor surgery.

Said it’s possible Burakovsky returns later in playoffs should Caps advance.

— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) April 20, 2018

Last season, the Swedish forward was a game-changer against the Penguins while skating with Nicklas Backstrom and TJ Oshie. Burakovsky scored three goals in two games against the Penguins, helping force a Game Seven in Washington – a game that the Capitals ultimately lost.

Chandler Stephenson has replaced Burakovsky on the second line and performed admirably in his absence, posting four points in six games.

Burakovsky has missed significant parts of two straight seasons with injuries. Last season, he broke his right hand, missing a little more than a month. This year, he broke his left thumb and did not play for a month and a half.