Washington Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette spoke to the media after the team’s morning skate concluded in Raleigh. Laviolette was asked about the team’s burgeoning list of injured players which now includes TJ Oshie and John Carlson.

Carlson is day-to-day and will miss Monday night’s game due to a lower-body injury at the least. Oshie is out indefinitely after pulling up lame while skating against the Nashville Predators. Oshie left the team after the Nashville game and went back to DC.

“[TJ] is being examined by the medical staff right now and I think we’ll have, once we get home, a better answer to that as to maybe a time frame or what we’re thinking,” Laviolette said.

Oshie is coming off a 2021-22 season where he missed 38 games mostly due to a broken foot and a back injury he suffered while trying to come back too soon. Oshie also had core surgery over the offseason which kept him off the ice for the first day of Training Camp.

In the earlier years of his Caps tenure, Oshie also had to work his way back from shoulder injuries, a broken collarbone, and concussions.

“It’s hard,” Laviolette said. “He certainly has been through it at least in my time here. He’s been through it with some injuries. It weighs on you mentally at times too. Then the physical part of the rehabilitating and getting back in the lineup. There’s a lot that goes with it. He’s a pretty positive person by nature. He’ll work hard to get back.”

Connor McMichael will replace Oshie in the lineup and get into his second game of the season. McMichael will initially start on the second line and receive TJ’s minutes there.

“He’s excited to play,” Laviolette said. “When you come to camp you want to be a starter and be a regular, and it had not worked out for Mikey that way at this point. So this is an unbelievable opportunity for him. So you got to look at it that way.”

Carlson will be replaced on the first pairing by Trevor van Riemsdyk and Matt Irwin, the team’s seventh defenseman, will get into the lineup for the first time this season.

“Matty Irwin is really excited to play the game tonight,” Laviolette said. “He’s been a soldier for this team. The guys love him. He’s going to come in and give us a great game.”

As for if Laviolette gave the Capitals a long motivational speech after seeing two more members of its leadership group go down, he did not.

“We didn’t even talk about it,” Laviolette said. “It’s business. We like the lineup we have in there tonight. We’ve got to go out and play hard. We know we’re playing against a real good team. The games we had against [the Hurricanes] last year: they’re fast, physical, and competitive. So we’ve got to be ready to play. It’s not something we really talk about. It’s just that understanding, two guys draw out, two guys draw in. Those guys are a part of our team and I’m sure they’re excited to play and get going.”

Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB