Even though the Washington Capitals have won two in a row to even their record, there seems to be more bad news surrounding the team. After Connor Brown left Monday’s game with a lower body injury, the Caps said at practice today that he’ll be on injured reserve and out long term.
Brown is still meeting with team doctors to determine whether or not surgery is needed. Carl Hagelin moved to long term injured reserve or LTIR for short.
This is a big blow to the Capitals. Primarily because Brown was traded to the Caps to help the team fill the void of Tom Wilson’s absence.
“We were really excited to have him here and be part of our organization,” said Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette. “Disappointing for us, disappointing for him. It’s unfortunate.”
Brown took a hit to the boards from Noah Juulsen of the Vancouver Canucks in Monday’s win. He grabbed his knee and didn’t put any weight on his right leg while leaving the ice and heading down the tunnel.
The Caps acquired Brown via trade from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a 2024 second round pick. He was primarily on the top six mostly on the first line to start the season. He also was on the second power play unit and helped fill in for Hagelin on the penalty kill.
Capitals winger Connor Brown took this hit from Noah Juulsen by the bench and had to be helped off the ice before heading straight to the locker room. He didn't appear to put any weight on his right leg. pic.twitter.com/IQvnMUivJQ
— Matt Weyrich (@ByMattWeyrich) October 18, 2022
Brown had two shots on goal and one takeaway with a minus three through the first four games, averaging 16:46 minutes per game. That included an average of 1:38 on the penalty kill.
The Caps couldn’t afford any injuries to start the season and now they have one. The Caps have no extra forwards and filling in are Connor McMichael and Joe Snively. The team also recalled Beck Malenstyn and we’ll have more on that shortly. Stay tuned.