No Updates On Orlov, Samsonov After Injuries At Capitals Practice

ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals saw adversity strike again. as Dmitry Orlov and Ilya Samsonov both left the ice with apparent injuries at Tuesday’s skate.

Head coach Peter Laviolette said both did indeed leave with injuries, but had no updates on the two and still has to talk to the training staff.

Orlov went down early in practice, exiting the ice in apparent pain. He skated off and headed to the dressing room, with athletic trainer Jason Serbus accompanying him.

It’s an unwelcome sight for the team, who started the 11 a.m. skate with its usual top-6 and nine total blueliners. Washington saw Martin Fehervary return and skate with the team for the first time since before the break. He went on protocol on Dec. 24.

With Orlov out, Michal Kempny filled in on the second pairing alongside Nick Jensen. Matt Irwin had to play forward with Nicklas Backstrom, Connor McMichael and T.J. Oshie not skating due to non-COVID illnesses.

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Toward the end of practice, Ilya Samsonov appeared to suffer an injury as well. He looked uncomfortable and chatted with a trainer on the bench before heading off. Main practice had already ended.

Through 34 games this season, Orlov has four goals and 17 points and is a team-best plus-20. He also has three assists in his last three outings.

Ilya Samsonov has been active in the Capitals crease of late, taking over the No. 1 spot with Vitek Vanecek on COVID-19 protocol when the team returned from break. Through 19 games so far, Samsonov is 13-2-3 with a 2.64 GAA and .908 save percentage.

The Capitals are holding “mini training camp” style practices with four games until their next game, which comes Friday against the St. Louis Blues.

“[We want to see] work, compete, pace, speed, guys competing against each other,” Laviolette said of the team’s itinerary for this week. “A lot of guys, not all the guys, a lot of guys have been off for a long time. The system’s mixed in between it, whether it be forecheck or offensive zone play. We’ve got time to work on things and go over things. Just parts of systems, as well as parts of compete and speed.”