Lars Eller was one of Washington’s most tenacious players on the forecheck during the Capitals’ first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes.
But he did so while dealing with an undisclosed upper-body injury that kept him out of practices down the stretch.
During his breakdown day interview on Friday, Eller spoke about his injury. He didn’t reveal much.
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“Yeah, I’ve been battling something,” Eller said. “A little bit been bugging me.”
Eller said that the injury occurred at the end of the regular season, but that it wasn’t serious and won’t require surgery. “I just have to take care,” he said. “With some rest, over time, it’ll be fine, I believe.”
Eller left the Capitals’ first postseason practice early and took maintenence days frequently to rehab the injury.
Despite his issues, Eller registered one goal and two assists during the playoffs and averaged 19 minutes a game.
When asked about whether this injury will keep him from joining the Danish team for the World Championship, Eller wasn’t sure. “We’ll make a decision on that with the doctors and everything here over the next day or two,” he said.
When asked if he literally wanted to participate in the event, Eller hesitated.
“I won’t comment,” he said laughing. “I’ll just say we’ll make a decision in the next little while.”
Capitals skaters Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Dmitry Orlov have already been named to Team Russia while Jakub Vrana and Dmitrij Jaskin will play for the Czech Republic during the 2019 IIHF World Championship. The Caps troika are expected to practice with Team Russia on Tuesday.
Headline photo: Capitals
