Connect with us

Capitals News

Capitals Injury Updates As Protas Recalled From Hershey

The Washington Capitals have brought up Aliaksei Protas for the Hershey Bears as they continue to work through injuries.

Published

on

ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals are continuing to deal with injuries as they return from their lengthy All-Star Break and in turn, recalled Aliaksei Protas from Hershey to be the extra forward as they get back into the rhythm of game action.

With Protas up, Washington now has 13 forwards going into Saturday's game against the Boston Bruins. The Capitals had been operating with 12 skaters up front with Tom Wilson and Nic Dowd still out of the mix with lower-body injuries, though both are making some progress.

Both Dowd and Wilson skated on Thursday before practice. Dowd remains on the injured reserve, but getting back on the ice is a step in the right direction. Meanwhile, Wilson appeared to be moving cautiously and going slowly on the ice while checking in with head athletic trainer Jason Serbus. He stayed on for a couple of minutes as his teammates went to the other rink for practice and slowly skated off with a bit of a limp. He is not on the IR at this time.

Dowd has not played since Jan. 16 after taking an awkward hit along the boards from Cal Clutterbuck against the New York Islanders. Through 44 games, Dowd has 10 goals and nine assists for 19 points, matching his total from last season and moving within one of the single-season career high he set back in 2020-21.

Wilson was eight games into his return from offseason ACL surgery when he was hurt blocking a Brad Hunt slapshot from close range on Jan. 24 against the Colorado Avalanche. He has two goals and an assist so far this season.

Protas will likely be the healthy scratch on Saturday, as the Capitals have run with the same lines over the last two practices:

Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Conor Sheary-Evgeny Kuznetsov-T.J. Oshie

Sonny Milano-Nicklas Backstrom-Marcus Johansson

Anthony Mantha-Lars Eller-Garnet Hathaway