The Washington Capitals are finally getting Pierre-Luc Dubois back into their lineup.
Dubois will play in his first game since October 31 against the Nashville Predators on Thursday night. The 27-year-old centerman has missed 52 total games this season and was previously not expected to return until after the NHL’s break for the 2026 Winter Olympics.
“It’s a lot better than knowing I’m going to be watching from upstairs,” Dubois said pregame. “It’s been a long time, a lot of work. The training staff here did an amazing job. I’m extremely grateful for them, teammates, and everybody. It’s going to be a fun night.”
The Capitals have an open roster spot to activate PLD off injured reserve after sending Bogdan Trineyev back to the AHL’s Hershey Bears on Wednesday. Head coach Spencer Carbery revealed that Dubois will play on a forward line with Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson.
“[He missed] a lot of games, so getting his feet back under him, it’s going to take some time,” Carbery said. “The timing of it, handling the puck, the nerves of it. Getting him back is a positive step, but there’s no ill-conceived notions of him coming in and putting a cape on and saving the world. It’s going to be a process of coming back.”
Dubois initially suffered his injury against the New York Islanders on Halloween, staying down on the ice after a defensive-zone faceoff. He had played in just six games for the Capitals this season before having surgery on his abdominal and adductor muscles.
“It was my first time really rehabbing something that wasn’t just day to day or a week or two,” Dubois said. “I learned a lot. When you have a long rehab, there can be a lot of ups and downs. But, like I said, the training staff here did a fantastic job. The doctors who did the surgery did a fantastic job. There weren’t a lot of downs. It was just kind of going up and progressing. Once I got to skating, it just kind of went from there. But, yeah, it’s all because of them.”
The veteran pivot was cleared for contact at practice on January 26 and has been skating with his teammates for even longer in a light blue no-contact jersey. In the games Dubois did play this year, he did not find the scoresheet, recording zero points and averaging 15:32 of ice time per game. He posted a career-high 66 points (20g, 46a) in his first campaign with the Capitals last year.
Thursday’s game against the Predators is the Capitals’ last before the NHL’s Olympics-imposed break. They will not play again until they host the Philadelphia Flyers on February 25.
