Ethen Frank was placed on injured reserve by the Washington Capitals on Thursday morning.
Frank, who was recalled from the AHL’s Hershey Bears earlier this week when Dylan Strome got injured, left the team’s game against the Dallas Stars late in the third period after slamming into Stars winger Mikko Rantanen. He gingerly made his way off the ice after the collision with help from head athletic trainer Jason Serbus, appearing to hold his left arm at a 90-degree angle.
The injury occurred with just 1:50 remaining in the third period, and Frank had played 8:48 of ice time before departing. Head coach Spencer Carbery had the 27-year-old winger skating on the team’s third line with Hendrix Lapierre and Anthony Beauvillier.
At Thursday’s practice, Justin Sourdif took Frank’s spot with Lapierre and Beauvillier, and Sonny Milano filled in on the fourth line with Nic Dowd and Brandon Duhaime. With Frank on IR, the Capitals can recall an extra forward from the Bears to get back up to a full 23-man roster.
“We put [Frank] on IR,” Carbery said. “Yeah, so he’s out with the upper-body injury. Do not [have a timeline].”
The Capitals could have many moving parts over the next few days, as Dylan Strome and Rasmus Sandin are also injured and practiced in no-contact jerseys on Thursday.
Frank will be eligible to return to the Capitals seven days after he suffered his injury, meaning he will definitely miss Friday night’s game against the New York Islanders and Saturday night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres. His first potential return game would be on November 5 against the St. Louis Blues.
In three games for the Capitals so far this season, Frank is averaging 11:18 of ice time and has recorded one assist.
