The Washington Capitals announced a slew of roster moves that will impact their lineup against the New Jersey Devils on Friday night. Those moves include the activation of veteran center Nic Dowd from injured reserve after he has missed the past nine games with an upper-body injury.

To accommodate Dowd now taking up a spot on the 23-man roster again, the Capitals also transitioned Anthony Mantha to the IR after he took a deflected shot to the head in Wednesday’s overtime loss to the Florida Panthers. The moves indicate that Dowd is ready to make his return to the lineup as the team takes on their Metropolitan Division back-to-back this weekend.

NEWS | The Capitals have recalled forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel and goaltender Hunter Shepard from the Hershey Bears. In addition, the Capitals have activated forward Nic Dowd from Injured Reserve (IR) and have placed forward Anthony Mantha on IR. https://t.co/v34DX1K55n

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 10, 2023

Dowd traveled with the team after participating in his first practice sans non-contact jersey on Thursday. The 33-year-old pivot has not dressed since the team’s second game of the season against the Calgary Flames.

The Alabama native, underwent surgery on his core during the offseason. Although he was healthy for the start of the regular season, he indicated during Training Camp that he anticipates needing to do regular upkeep on the ailment for the rest of his career.

“Looking every day to build on the last one and not have any setbacks,” Dowd said. “I think a lot of maintenance, a lot of rehab, a lot of warming up skating getting ready before practice. Stuff like that is probably going to follow me now. Just how it works as you get a little older. It’s a tough game, so it’s kind of to be expected. I’ve been fortunate so far.”

Mantha goes to injured reserve after the scary incident on Wednesday forced him out of a two-goal effort against the Panthers early. The big winger did not participate in the Capitals’ optional practice on Thursday morning and he also did not travel with the team to New Jersey.

The Capitals placing Mantha on IR means they do not expect him to be able to play for at least one week after the date of his injury. That would include Friday’s game against the Devils, Saturday’s game against the New York Islanders, and Tuesday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights. At the earliest, Mantha would be able to return on November 18 when the Columbus Blue Jackets travel to DC.

In addition to Dowd’s activation, Nicolas Aube-Kubel was also recalled from the AHL’s Hershey Bears to help fill in on the wing depth-wise. Puck drop against New Jersey is at 7 pm.

Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB