The Washington Capitals lost forward TJ Oshie to a lower-body injury against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. Oshie did not suit up Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The team may also have to grapple with injuries to Nic Dowd and Trevor van Riemsdyk in the coming days.

Both players were hobbled by hits during Caps-Canes that forced them to miss time and not finish the game.

Dowd was injured in the first period after he attempted to land a big hit on Hurricanes’ defenseman Brendan Smith.

“Dowd went to the locker room after a heavy hit along the wall,” NBC Sports Washington’s Craig Laughlin said during a replay. “Smith working the puck and [Dowd] tried to get a big chunk of him, went in with his shoulder. Had a tough time getting to the bench. Got to the bench and elected to take him to the locker room and we’ll have an update hopefully soon on Nic Dowd.”

As Dowd came flying in for a hit, he looked to drive his right shoulder into Smith. The Canes’ rearguard dished the puck up the ice and prepared for the impact, getting his right shoulder up to deliver a counter hit. Dowd got caught high on the right arm. The counter hit appeared to cause a lot of stress on Dowd’s shoulder and chest/rib area. The 31-year-old forward immediately doubled over in pain before slowly skating back to the Capitals bench before leaving for the locker room.

Dowd missed time in the first period and only skated one shift in the third period — 19 seconds at puck drop. The fourth-line center skated only 10:08 total in the game.

Screenshot: NHL

van Riemsdyk was injured in the third period when he was checked into the Capitals bench by Hurricanes forward Derek Stepan.

"Your seat is right here, sir." pic.twitter.com/gjkAoLgdK8

— Bally Sports: Canes (@CanesOnBally) March 19, 2022

The third-pairing defenseman clutched his right side in pain as he tried to get out of his teammates’ laps. TVR’s last shift ended with 10:43 left on the clock in the third period. He skated 12:39 total.

The Capitals are also without forwards TJ Oshie, Joe Snively, and Lars Eller (COVID). Washington’s next game is Sunday against Dallas.

Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB