The Washington Capitals finally got some positive news on the injury front after four straight games of losing a player to injury. Both defenseman Martin Fehervary and forward Nic Dowd were on the ice for the team’s morning skate on Monday.
Two key pieces of the Capitals’ lineup, the players donned non-contact sweaters, indicating they are progressing toward a return to game action but will not dress against the Ottawa Senators. Fehervary has already missed three games while Dowd has missed the last two.
Fehervary suffered a lower-body injury against the Montreal Canadiens a little over a week ago. After peeling behind the Capitals’ net to retrieve a loose puck, Fehervary fell awkwardly on his left leg and did not return to the game.
The young, Slovak defender was spotted on crutches postgame, and head coach Spencer Carbery provided an injury update on him at the team’s next skate.
“I think we’re looking at probably a week-to-week situation,” Carbery said. “Not something where it could be any day. It’s probably week-to-week, whether it’s one, two. That’s what we’re looking at.”
His participation at Monday’s skate indicates that his prognosis may have been less serious than previously thought. Fehervary has previously missed five games due to a different lower-body injury and one game due to an upper-body injury earlier this season.
Fehervary’s absence has led to an opportunity for Trevor van Riemsdyk to skate on the team’s top defense pairing next to John Carlson. Ethan Bear and Alex Alexeyev also received gameday sweaters due to the hole in the lineup.
Dowd suffered his injury in a game against the New Jersey Devils last week. In that outing, the veteran center took a hit up high from Devils forward Timo Meier. The collision knocked Dowd’s helmet off but went unpenalized.
After the hit, Dowd continued to play for much of the first period before cutting his final shift short with 2:00 remaining before the first intermission. He had previously missed nine games due to an upper-body injury earlier this season.
Dowd did not travel with the Capitals on their recent two-game road trip to Florida and Carbery called him “day-to-day.” Aliaksei Protas filled in for him as the center on the fourth line.
Pierrick Dube, Hendrix Lapierre, and Ivan Miroshnichenko have all been recalled from the Hershey Bears after the injuries to Dowd, TJ Oshie, and Anthony Mantha. Miroshnichenko is the latest to arrive, hopping on the ice for Monday’s skate.
