Washington Capitals center Nic Dowd missed practice Friday due to an “illness” and now we know it’s COVID-19 related.

The team officially announced Friday afternoon that Dowd has been placed in the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol.

#Caps center Nic Dowd is unavailable due to the NHL's COVID-19 protocol

— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) December 3, 2021

Without further specifics, it’s unclear how long Dowd will be out for or how many games he will miss. Dowd’s teammate Lars Eller missed six games and had to quarantine for ten total days in Anaheim after he tested positive for COVID-19 while the team was on their West Coast road trip.

Dowd played against the Carolina Hurricanes on November 28 and only a day later Hurricanes defensemen Tony DeAngelo and Brett Pesce both entered COVID-19 protocols to begin the quarantine process.

The Capitals play tomorrow against the Columbus Blue Jackets at home. Peter Laviolette said that it was possible that John Carlson, Garnet Hathaway, and Carl Hagelin could miss Saturday’s game after missing practice and taking maintenance days.

Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB