Washington Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin was on the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Monday practicing with the rest of his teammates ahead of their Tuesday night matchup with the Buffalo Sabres. Sandin skated after he did not play in the team’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday night due to a lower-body injury.
Sandin’s injury was a mystery as he had played in all of the Capitals’ games in March until Saturday. Alex Alexeyev jumped up a pairing and played with Nick Jensen in Sandin’s usual spot.
Head coach Spencer Carbery was non-committal about Sandin’s potential availability against the Sabres despite the rearguard’s full participation in the practice.
“He will travel,” Carbery said. “We’ll see tomorrow.”
The Swedish blueliner is behind just John Carlson (25:45) in time on ice per game this season for the Capitals, skating on average 21:21 over 64 contests. He is also the team’s second-leading scorer from the backend, amassing 23 points (3g, 20a).
Sandin’s late scratch also forced rookie defender Vincent Iorio into his season debut on the Capitals’ third pairing next to Trevor van Riemsdyk. Iorio played just 9:12 in the loss but impressed Carbery in those limited minutes.
“Loved Vinny’s game in a limited role,” Carbery said postgame. “Coming in, managed pucks, defended well. I thought he had a very, very clean game for the circumstances getting called in late, Sandin can’t go.”
The only other attendance note from practice was the lack of TJ Oshie. The Capitals called Oshie’s absence maintenance-related but the most recent time they classified him out due to just maintenance, he missed the next two games with an upper-body injury.
Carbery said that Oshie will also make the trip up to Buffalo and is expected to play against the Sabres. The 37-year-old winger scored against Buffalo in the Capitals’ 4-3 overtime win over the Sabres back on November 22.
The Sabres sit sixth in the Atlantic Division with no postseason hopes and just seven games remaining on their schedule. They’ll be celebrating forward Jeff Skinner’s 1,000th NHL game when the Capitals arrive at KeyBank Center.
