ARLINGTON, VA — Anthony Mantha’s best game of the season was cut short by a scary injury Wednesday night when a deflected slap shot from Evgeny Kuznetsov hit Mantha’s ear midway through the third period.
Mantha did not participate in the Capitals’ optional practice on Thursday morning and is listed as day-to-day. He will remain in Washington as the team goes on a two-game road trip this weekend. The Caps are expected to recall an additional player ahead of their game Friday night against the New Jersey Devils.
Mantha is day-to-day with an upper-body injury after taking a puck to the ear last night. He will not travel with the team to New Jersey and New York this weekend. Expect a call-up to come sometime tomorrow.
— Katie Adler (@katieEadler) November 9, 2023
Though the Caps already have 12 healthy forwards after recalling Mike Sgarbossa from the Hershey Bears earlier this week, another call-up would allow the team to carry an extra forward into their back-to-back against the Devils and New York Islanders.
Before the injury, Mantha put up two of the Capitals’ three goals against the Florida Panthers, recording just his third multi-goal game since arriving in DC. He immediately dropped to the ground when struck by the puck and would require the help of both Kuznetsov and Aliaksei Protas to make his way off the ice.
Ugh. Anthony Mantha got hit by the puck. Slowly helped off the ice. Hope he’s okay. #allcaps [pic.twitter.com/jxBjaxEzgI](http://pic.twitter.com/jxBjaxEzgI)
— virginiahume (@virginiahume) November 9, 2023
Mantha’s injury echoed a similar incident in the 2022-23 season when John Carlson was struck by a slap shot up high, causing him to miss nearly half the season with a severed temporal artery and fractured skull.
The Capitals will also play without several of their blueliners this weekend. Neither Joel Edmundson, still recovering from a fractured hand sustained in Training Camp, nor Trevor van Riemsdyk, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, will travel with the team. Head coach Spencer Carbery had previously suggested that both players could potentially return for the back-to-back.
Nic Dowd’s status for the weekend remains undetermined, with the team expecting to make a decision after the optional skate on Thursday. He has missed the past two weeks with an upper-body injury, last playing in the team’s second game of the season.
Headline photo: Katie Adler/RMNB
