Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom and defenseman John Carlson are being further evaluated for injuries, following the team’s 6-3 win over Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 5.
Backstrom left the game shortly after his last shift 6:48 into the third period and did not return. Capitals coach Barry Trotz said Backstrom has an upper-body injury and would have an update Sunday on his status moving forward.
Similarly, Carlson took a hard hit from Penguins forward Jake Guentzel late into the the third. Trotz was not pleased over the hit, and hinted the league needed to take action.
“John took a high hit, he was unsuspecting with a minute left,” Trotz said. “He’s being evaluated. I know the standard’s been set and I’m going to leave it up to the league. It was a headshot, in my opinion. An unsuspecting high hit.”
After Game 3, Capitals forward Tom Wilson was suspended three games for delivering a high hit on Pittsburgh’s Zach Aston-Reese.
If Backstrom or Carlson are unable to go for Game 6 on Monday, that would be a costly blow to the Capitals. They are already without Wilson and winger Andre Burakovsky. Carlson, meanwhile, has been the team’s most productive defenseman on offense, tallying 11 points this postseason.
• Matthew Paras can be reached at mparas@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.