Capitals Place Carlson, Others On IR, Recall Milano & More From Bears

ARLINGTON, V.A. — With injuries piling up, the Washington Capitals announced a number of moves on Wednesday.

Washington recalled forwards Sonny Milano and Garrett Pilon and defenseman Lucas Johansen from the AHL’s Hershey Bears on Wednesday. The Capitals have also placed T.J. Oshie, John Carlson and Beck Malenstyn on the injured reserve, and Connor Brown is on the long-term injured reserve.

Milano inked a one-year, one-way $750,000 deal in mid-October after being released from his PTO with the Calgary Flames. The 26-year-old has gotten off to a good start with the Bears, dishing two goals and an assist in five games. Last season with the Anaheim Ducks, Milano got to play top-6 minutes and also showed chemistry with Trevor Zegras, and he finished the 2021-22 campaign with 14 goals and 20 assists for 34 points in 66 games. He will wear No. 15 in D.C.

Pilon has been a solid presence in Hershey and has made major strides with Hershey. He has five points in seven games down with the Bears this season, and he’s a versatile winger who can make things happen in the offensive zone. The 24-year-old got two games up in D.C. last season, recording an assist, and he had 42 points in 60 games with the Bears last season.

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Johansen is also coming up to D.C. to help the blue line with Carlson on the IR. Johansen was one of the last cuts at camp and a strong training camp as he works toward a full-time role on Washington’s d-corps. The 24-year-old has one goal through six games so far with the Bears, and he’s a proven puck-moving defenseman who looked solid in his NHL debut last year and has made strides in his development. Matt Irwin had filled in for Carlson over the last couple of games.

As for the injuries, the timeframes for Carlson and Malenstyn remain unclear. Carlson was day-to-day with a lower-body injury he suffered against the Nashville Predators, and there was no update on Malenstyn’s status after he went down with an upper-body injury in Tuesday’s OT loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. Oshie is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury, and Brown will likely miss the remainder of the season after undergoing ACL surgery.

There are now a total of seven injured Capitals: Nicklas Backstrom (hip resurfacing surgery), Tom Wilson (ACL surgery), Carl Hagelin (hip surgery), Brown (ACL surgery), Oshie (lower-body), Carlson (lower-body) and Malenstyn (upper-body).