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.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.