The Capitals are making some tweaks as they deal with multiple injuries up front.
The Washington Capitals are dealing with a handful of injuries as their playoff push continues, and on Friday, they brought up Hendrix Lapierre to help fill the void.
Washington recalled Lapierre from the AHL's Hershey Bears in wake of an injury to T.J. Oshie up front, the team announced. Meanwhile, Nic Dowd has gone on the injured reserve to make space for Lapierre.
Oshie is still being evaluated for a lower-body injury he suffered in Thursday's 5-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. The 37-year-old was skating and turned when he suffered a non-contact injury that sent him to the ice and led to him crawling to the bench and having to be helped to the dressing room.
Head coach Spencer Carbery didn't have too much of an update on Oshie's status, but did say that it wasn't a situation where he would skate on Saturday when the Capitals take on the Florida Panthers.
Meanwhile, Dowd is day-to-day with an upper-body injury he suffered on Tuesday, and this means he will miss at least the next two games.
Lapierre has spent the majority of the 2023-24 season up in the NHL, skating in 25 games for D.C. and managing two goals and five assists for seven points. In 21 games with Hershey this year, he has five goals and 12 assists for 17 points.
It's unclear what the lineup will look like on Saturday, but Lapierre gives the team another option at center and wing since Lapierre can play both positions. Pierrick Dubé is also up with the big club, and Carbery said there;'s a "good chance" he could make his NHL debut.
Washington is missing Dowd and Oshie up front, and Martin Fehervary was also hurt two games ago. Evgeny Kuznetsov and Nicklas Backstrom remain away from the team indefinitely.
