The Washington Capitals lost an important part of their checking line late in Friday night’s 5-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.
Brandon Duhaime left the win in the third period after blocking a Cale Makar one-time blast with his left skate. Makar wound up for the hard shot with 15:11 left in the frame, and Duhaime was in noticeable pain on Washington’s bench after coming off the ice.
The 27-year-old winger took one more shift but cut it short after just 25 seconds, signaling to the bench for Andrew Mangiapane to replace him. Per the Monumental Sports Network telecast, Duhaime went back to the locker room for treatment and did not return to the game.
He skated 10:40 of ice time in the win, the least on the team.
Duhaime has played 16 games for the Capitals this season and recorded five points (3g, 2a). He is an integral part of the team’s penalty kill, skating on average 2:02 of shorthanded ice time per game.
Washington has two more games remaining on their road trip, a back-to-back against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday and Utah HC on Monday. If the Capitals need to replace Duhaime in their lineup, the team may need to dip into Hershey to find a replacement. Hendrix Lapierre is the only extra forward on the trip.
