Capitals Give Update On Carlson As He’s Transported To Hospital

*UPDATE: Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson has been discharged from the hospital. He is out indefinitely. The latest on Carlson can be found here.

WASHINGTON — While the Washington Capitals' 4-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets saw Alex Ovechkin make history, there was another elephant in the room as the team awaited word on John Carlson, who went down with a scary injury in the third period.

At the start of the third period, Carlson took a Brenden Dillon slapshot the right side of his face and immediately fell to the ice, bleeding profusely from the cheek area. His teammates rushed to get assistance from the medical staff, and he was quickly helped off the ice and escorted down the tunnel.

Head coach Peter Laviolette provided an update on  Carlson postgame, saying that No. 74 is being transported to a hospital for precautionary evaluation.

"He's under the care of team physicians… we are certainly just watching to see what happens with him," Laviolette said. "We want to make sure that he's good, that he's safe. Right now, he's with the doctors."

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Washington has a three-day holiday break before returning to face the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Dec. 27.

Alex Ovechkin also said after the game that the Capitals were rallying around Carlson and that the third period was played with No. 74 in mind.

"I hope he's all right," Ovechkin said. "I don't know what's happening right now, but all our minds right now are with him."

"He sits right next to Ovi, such a loud, vocal piece inside of the locker room," Laviolette added.