Aliaksei Protas was not on the ice for Washington Capitals practice on Monday after suffering an upper-body injury in the Washington Capitals’ 5-4 shootout victory over the Vegas Golden Knights.
Protas sustained an upper-body injury late in the first period of Saturday’s game. The Belarusian forward slammed headfirst into former Capitals teammate Nic Dowd along the sideboards, leaving Dowd bleeding from above the eye and Protas struggling to get up. Minutes later, Protas was woozily helped off the ice by his teammates.
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery told reporters after practice on Monday that Protas would be out of the lineup for a bit, including for Tuesday’s home game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
“He’s going to miss a little bit of time,” Carbery said. “Won’t play tomorrow, and then we’ll reassess later in the week.”
Carbery added that Protas flew back with the team and that the winger should return before the end of the regular season, which will wrap up for the Capitals on April 14 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“We expect him back,” Carbery said.
Protas is the Capitals’ fifth leading scorer with 47 points (23g, 24a) in 70 games this season, and is tied for third with Jakob Chychrun for the team’s lead in goals.
With Protas out of the lineup, David Kampf seems likely to make his Capitals debut, more than three weeks after the Capitals acquired him from the Vancouver Canucks at the March 6 trade deadline. Kampf, who missed time dealing with both visa issues and the birth of his child, joined the Capitals on their three-game road trip last week but did not play.
“I’m not going to commit to anything at this point for tomorrow, but good chance that he may get in there,” Carbery said.
Pierre-Luc Dubois also did not skate on Monday due to maintenance, but Carbery expects him to be good to go against Philadelphia on Tuesday.
The Flyers will roll into town winners of eight consecutive road games, tying a franchise record. The team sits three points ahead of the Capitals in the standings and are one of a handful of teams the Caps must pass if they hope to make the playoffs this season.
