On Saturday, during the Capitals’ Game Five win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, Nicklas Backstrom went down the tunnel in the third period and did not return to the game.
During his meetup with the press, Capitals head coach Barry Trotz announced that Backstrom had an “upper-body” injury, and would be re-evaluated on Sunday.
Trotz met with the media on Sunday and provided an update on Backstrom’s status. He will be traveling with the team to Pittsburgh, and is expected to play in Game Six.
Trotz said he expects Backstrom to play tomorrow. But also said “we’ll see where he is tomorrow.” Carlson is “fine,” Trotz said. Burakovsky is not traveling to Pittsburgh, so he’s still out.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) May 6, 2018
Trotz says Backstrom (upper body injury) is expected to play tomorrow. #Caps
— Tarik El-Bashir⌨️🎙🏒 (@TarikNBCS) May 6, 2018
Both The Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan, and NBC Sports Washington’s Tarik El-Bashir, confirmed the news on Twitter.
Backstrom could have been injured during the first period. With 12:23 left on the clock, the Swedish center blocked a shot on the penalty kill from Penguins defenseman Justin Schultz. The puck deflected off the top of his right hand and wrist.
Backstrom later cleared the puck on his backhand to end his shift.
Over the course of Game Five, Backstrom took a total of three faceoffs, all of which came prior to the blocked shot. Backstrom was on the ice for 14:49, and took just one shift in the third period.
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