Nic Dowd has been activated from the injured reserve before the Capitals are set to take on the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night. The fourth-line center is no longer listed on the IR on the NHL’s media site.

To make room for Dowd’s return to play, the Caps announced that they have sent forward Aliaksei Protas back to the AHL’s Hershey Bears.

Protas has often been a healthy scratch in his latest stint with the big club, playing just once since January 24. He became a first-time father a week ago which forced him out of the lineup against the Carolina Hurricanes.

NEWS | The Capitals have loaned forward Aliaksei Protas to the Hershey Bears.#ALLCAPS https://t.co/2JzWd4KSeC

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) February 21, 2023

Dowd has not played in a game since going down injured against the New York Islanders on January 16.

Caps head coach Peter Laviolette indicated at the team’s morning skate that Dowd would be a game-time decision against Detroit. Dowd took regular line rushes with the fourth line during Monday’s practice and did not get in any extra work with the healthy scratches on Tuesday.

“He changed the color [of his jersey],” Laviolette said on Monday. “He’s involved in the lines. He is definitely getting closer.”

Puck drop between the Caps and Wings is at 7 pm inside Capital One Arena.

Here’s the full press release from the team:

Capitals Loan Aliaksei Protas to Hershey

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have loaned forward Aliaksei Protas to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.

Protas, 22, has recorded 10 points (3g, 7a) in 43 games with Washington this season. The 6’6″, 235-pound forward appeared in 33 games with Washington during the 2021-22 season, ranking second among Capitals rookies in plus/minus (+4) and third in points (9). In 76 career NHL games with the Capitals, Protas has recorded 19 points (6g, 13a).

In eight games with Hershey this season, Protas has recorded five points (2g, 3a). The Vitebsk, Belarus native recorded 24 points (8g, 16a) in 42 games with the Bears in 2021-22, establishing AHL career highs in goals, assists, points and power play goals (2) and earning Hershey’s Rookie of the Year award. Protas has recorded 36 points (12g, 24a) in 66 career AHL games with Hershey.

The Capitals selected Protas with their third-round pick, 91st overall, in the 2019 NHL Draft.

Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB