The Washington Capitals were back on the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Wednesday morning after taking two days off earlier this week.
The Capitals are dealing with a few injuries after a run of 15 games from November 11 to December 7, during which the team had no more than one day of rest between games. Ryan Leonard, Charlie Lindgren, and John Carlson have all been out for varying amounts of time, and head coach Spencer Carbery was asked to share the latest updates on all three after practice.
Leonard, 20, was the lone one of the three not to take the ice on Wednesday, as the rookie winger is still recovering from an upper-body injury he suffered against the Anaheim Ducks last Friday. He was spotted with his left arm in a sling during the Capitals’ locker room celebration video this past weekend.
“Yeah, I don’t have anything new on Leno,” Carbery said. “I’m sure we’ll come out with more information at some point, but as of now, we’re just sticking with he’s going to be out for an extended period of time.”
The Capitals recently placed Leonard on injured reserve and recalled forward Bogdan Trineyev from the AHL’s Hershey Bears to fill his roster spot. In the same series of roster moves, they also placed Lindgren on IR and recalled goaltender Clay Stevenson. Stevenson has since been returned to Hershey, and Garin Bjorklund recalled.
Lindgren, also nursing an upper-body injury, skated ahead of the team’s practice on Wednesday but did not stick around when his teammates took the ice. The 31-year-old netminder has not played since he made 23 saves in a 7-1 win against the San Jose Sharks last week.
“Yeah, he’s been feeling better, so that’s a positive sign that he’s at least in his equipment out on the ice,” Carbery said.
Carlson, who has been a “game-time decision” the past three games but did not play, was a full participant in practice and returned to taking line rushes with his regular defense partner, Martin Fehervary. The 35-year-old defenseman has 23 points (6g, 17a) in 26 games this season.
Carbery admitted that Carlson could play against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night. He has not dressed since skating a season low 18:27 of ice time in the Capitals’ 3-1 victory against the Los Angeles Kings on December 2.
The Capitals also saw Jakob Chychrun depart practice early for precautionary reasons. Chychrun (23:22) is the lone player on the team averaging more ice time per game than Carlson (22:51) this season.
