Rasmus Sandin played just one period for the Washington Capitals against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.
Sandin was hurt with just 19 seconds remaining in the first frame, absorbing a hit from Oilers forward Curtis Lazar against the boards. After getting up slowly, Sandin got back into position and made a big shot block on defender Ty Emberson with the inside of his leg.
The 25-year-old Swede needed assistance to get back to the team’s bench once the horn sounded to end the period. He attempted to return for the second period but did not take a shift before heading back to the locker room.
During the second intermission, the Capitals announced that Sandin would not return to the game due to a lower-body injury.
When he left the ice, Sandin had played just 5:07 of ice time. He has played in 47 of the team’s 53 games this season, recording 16 points (2g, 14a).
With Sandin out of action, a lot of the workload was shifted onto the team’s top-four defensemen. John Carlson finished the second period as the team’s ice-time leader (16:46), with Jakob Chychrun (15:22), Martin Fehervary (15:13), and Matt Roy (14:46) not far behind him.
The Capitals have two more games left on their six-game road trip after playing the Oilers. Declan Chisholm and Dylan McIlrath are the team’s two extra defensemen.
