The Washington Capitals have made a flurry of roster moves ahead of a potential Garnet Hathaway suspension for spitting.

Wednesday morning, the Capitals announced that star center Nicklas Backstrom, in a surprise, will miss the New York Rangers game with an upper-body injury. Nic Dowd and Carl Hagelin remain out. In corresponding moves, the Capitals placed Carl Hagelin on the long term injured reserve list (eligible to be activated Dec. 2) and Nic Dowd on injured reserve (eligible to be activated Nov. 21).

#Caps Nicklas Backstrom (upper body), Nic Dowd (upper body) and Carl Hagelin (upper body) will not play tonight vs NYR and are listed as day to day. Caps place Hagelin on LTIR (eligible to be activated Dec. 2) and Nic Dowd on IR (eligible to be activated Nov. 21)

— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) November 20, 2019

The Capitals recalled forwards Beck Malenstyn and Mike Sgarbossa, defenseman Tyler Lewington, and goaltender Ilya Samsonov from the Hershey Bears and returned Vitek Vanecek back to the A. Samsonov practiced with Hershey on Tuesday – his first time in Hershey all year.

Sgarbossa is the Bears leading goal (7) and point scorer (14) while Malenstyn has 6 points in 18 games.

Washington will now await word from the NHL on Hathaway’s fate.

More from the Capitals:

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have recalled forwards Beck Malenstyn and Mike Sgarbossa, defenseman Tyler Lewington and goaltender Ilya Samsonov from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL) and re-assigned goaltender Vitek Vanecek to Hershey, senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.

Malenstyn, 21, has recorded six points (3g, 3a) in 18 games with Hershey this season. Last season with the Bears, the 6’2”, 198-pound forward recorded 16 points (7g, 9a) in his rookie AHL season and was named Hershey’s IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year. In 92 career games with Hershey, the White Rock, B.C., native has recorded 22 points (10g, 12a). Prior to joining Hershey, Malenstyn won a WHL Championship in 2018 as a member of the Swift Current Broncos, recording 11 points (4g, 7a) in 26 playoff games. Malenstyn was selected with the Capitals’ fifth round pick, 145th overall, in the 2016 NHL Draft.

Sgarbossa, 27, has recorded 10 points (2g, 8a) in 48 career NHL games with the Anaheim Ducks, Florida Panthers and Colorado Avalanche. The 6’0”, 185-pound forward leads Hershey this season with seven goals and 14 points (7g, 7a) in 17 games. Last season with Hershey, the Campbellville, Ont., native was one of 13 players in the AHL to record 30 goals. In 404 career AHL games between Hershey, the Manitoba Moose, the Springfield Thunderbirds, the San Diego Gulls, the Norfolk Admirals and the Lake Erie Monsters, Sgarbossa has recorded 278 points (109g, 169a) and was an AHL All Star in 2013.

Lewington, 24, has appeared in six games with the Capitals this season and two games with Hershey. The Edmonton, Alb., native made his NHL debut on Dec. 22, 2018, against the Ottawa Senators. On Dec. 29, 2018, against Ottawa, Lewington recorded his first career point, an assist, his first career goal and was charged with a fighting major. It marked the first Capitals Gordie Howe hat trick in seven years (Troy Brouwer, Dec. 7, 2011 at Ottawa) and the first time a Washington defenseman recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick in the regular season since Kevin Hatcher (Feb. 10, 1991 versus Philadelphia). In eight career games with Washington, the 6’2”, 200-pound defenseman has two points (1g, 1a).

Samsonov, 22, has a record of 5-2-1 with a 2.65 goals against average and a .912 save percentage in eight games with the Capitals this season. The 6’3”, 208-pound goaltender became the first rookie goaltender in franchise history to win his first five career starts, the 18th goaltender in NHL history to accomplish this feat and the first since Charlie Lindgren of the Montreal Canadiens from April 7, 2016 to Nov. 7, 2017. Last season with Hershey, Samsonov had a record of 20-14-5 with a 2.70 goals against average and a .898 save percentage.

Vanecek, 23, has a record of 4-2-1 with a 2.65 goals against average and a .894 save percentage in eight games with Hershey this season. Last season, the 6’1”, 187-pound goaltender posted a record of 21-10-6 with a 2.62 goals against average and a .907 save percentage in 38 games with the Bears last season. He was named to the 2019 AHL All-Star Classic and was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 21, 2018.

Headline photo: Cara Bahniuk