Nic Dowd Details Injury Rehab, Status & Progress For Capitals

After going down with injury on Long Island, Washington Capitals forward Nic Dowd has been putting in the work to get back in the lineup sooner rather than later. And though it's been a slow road so far, he said he's getting there.

Dowd joined the Grant & Danny Show on 106.7 The Fan on Wednesday to share the latest on his injury and the progress he's making on the road back.

"It’s always a bit of a grind, you’re tyring to take — it's always a toss-up right?" Dowd said. "We’ve got great people we work with internally, with our staff. Every injury’s different and our staff Jason Serbus, Steve Ruhmel and Murphy Luatua, they're great dudes… we're moving in the right direction. Slowly — a little bit slower than I’d like — but slowly but surely.”

Dowd suffered a lower-body injury on Jan. 16 against the New York Islanders after taking a hard hit along the boards from Cal Clutterbuck in the opening minutes of the game. He crawled to the bench in visible discomfort and went down the tunnel, and after trying to take a quick spin on the ice and test things out during a media timeout, he exited again and did not return.

Head coach Peter Laviolette then said the next day that Dowd would be out "for a bit." The 32-year-old, who has 10 goals and nine assists in 44 games, is now on the injured reserve and is going through off-ice work and rehab to get back to full strength. And although he's better for it, he admits it hasn't been fun.

"We all play this great game, we play hockey we all train as kids because we want to play. You never want to think about it like, s**t, I signed up to play in the NHL to rehab every day. It’s part of the job, right… [your] job is to be a hockey player [and when you're hurt] to get back as quickly as possible," Dowd said. I think the beginning of the process is always challenging because you’re sitting there and you’re looking at this like, 'How’d I get injured? How did this stupid thing happen?

"You’re crunching all the numbers in your head. You're sitting on the table and the first question is, 'Hey, doctor, how long am I gonna be out for? Everyone's different… That’s kind of where your brain goes to first and then you go into the amount of work you have to do to get back."

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Still, despite the adversity, Dowd said having his team rally around him has made the gruelling journey back to the lineup a bit better. It involves a lot of hard work on the body, massages and other steps that ultimately lead to skating and full contact, but Dowd said he's on the right track.

"At times, it can be a little overwhelming and you gotta find solitude in that you work hard every day," Dowd said. "You’re surrounded by good people, and you’re headed in the right direction."