The Washington Capitals will finish their short Canadian road trip on Saturday night when they take on the Montreal Canadiens. The team held their scheduled morning skate before the matchup and per the Washington Post’s Bailey Johnson, Nic Dowd participated.
Dowd did not play against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday as it was announced by the team that he was dealing with an upper-body injury. The veteran pivot then also missed Friday’s practice and head coach Spencer Carbery revealed after Saturday’s skate that Dowd will not be in the lineup against the Habs.
Dowd got into the Capitals’ first two games of the season and finished those without apparent problem. In the team’s lone win against the Calgary Flames, Dowd skated 15:06 of ice time.
The 33-year-old forward missed a chunk of last season, 17 games, with what was a core injury that required surgery over the offseason. Dowd did not miss any time during Training Camp or the preseason with the ailment but in his opening media availability discussed that the issue was not entirely resolved by the procedure.
“Looking every day to build on the last one and not have any setbacks,” Dowd said. “I think a lot of maintenance, a lot of rehab, a lot of warming up skating getting ready before practice. Stuff like that is probably going to follow me now for the rest of my career. Just how it works as you get a little older. It’s a tough game, so it’s kind of to be expected. I’ve been fortunate so far.”
With Dowd out, Aliaksei Protas will fill in as the center on the fourth line for the second-straight game. Joining him on that checking line will be Beck Malenstyn and Anthony Mantha.
Protas was prepared for this type of responsibility going into the regular season. “Overall, I think I should get used to just fill the spots and be ready to play everywhere,” Protas said during Training Camp. “Wherever coach want me to be, I will just be there and compete. Gotta compete for all twelve spots, basically. Gotta be ready to play.”
Puck drop against the Canadiens is at 7 pm. Capitals defenseman Hardy Haman Aktell is slated to make his NHL debut in the game.
Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
