Washington Capitals: T.J. Oshie week to week with lower body injury

The Washington Capitals held an optional practice on Thursday morning at MedStar Capitals Iceplex following an overtime loss the night before to the Detroit Red Wings. Following the practice, the team announced that T.J. Oshie sustained a lower body injury in last night’s game. He is listed as week to week.

Oshie might have hurt himself after blocking a shot. Oshie had an assist, two shots while having two blocked shots in 18:31 minutes of ice time. Having another star on the Caps being listed as week to week isn’t good news for a team that otherwise got off to a hot start seven games in.

Speaking of the other one, Nicklas Backstrom is currently on long term injured reserve. He was, however, on the ice in full gear prior to practice with strength coach Mark Nemish. He’s eligible to come off of long term injured reserve on Nov. 6 vs. the Philadelphia Flyers.

As for Oshie, his fatal blocked shot came in the third period and he hobbled to the bench. Despite this he still played in multiple shifts. The Caps practice was just an optional so we won’t really know what the lineup will look like without Oshie until morning skate tomorrow. But we might have a general idea of who could replace him.

This injury comes one game after Oshie recorded a hat trick in Washington’s win over the Ottawa Senators. Oshie was off to a good start this season with four goals and two assists for six points. An interesting development happened at yesterday’s morning skate as fan favorite Daniel Sprong skated with the scratches. Now expect Sprong to slot into Oshie’s spot.

We also have a tough decision on our hands with Hendrix Lapierre but now it looks like the team will have no choice but to burn off a year of his entry level contract. In a report from Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic (subscription required): The team did not divulge any details but Oshie was struck on the right ankle/foot by a Danny Dekeyser slap shot early in the third period.”