📸: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
John Carlson jumped on the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex on Sunday morning.
The 35-year-old defenseman, wearing a regular practice jersey, participated in the Capitals’ optional practice after missing the team’s game against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night due to an upper-body injury. The absence was Carlson’s first of the season after he had played in all 17 prior games.
Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery stated on Saturday morning that he was “not overly concerned” about Carlson’s injury, and the veteran blueliner was a game-time decision against the Devils. Ultimately, Carlson did not dress and was replaced in the club’s lineup by Trevor van Riemsdyk.
Carlson is currently on a five-game point streak, tallying an assist in 22:55 of total ice time against the Florida Panthers in the Capitals’ last outing. He is averaging 23:22 of ice time per game this season, which ranked first on the team until Jakob Chychrun (23:36) overtook him after the loss to New Jersey.
With Carlson out of action, Chychrun played a game-high 28:22 of ice time against the Devils. Matt Roy also shouldered a lot of the minutes Carlson left behind, playing 24:28 time on ice.
The Capitals will be back at Capital One Arena on Monday night when they host the Los Angeles Kings. The team is holding an optional morning skate before the game, so Carlson’s potential availability will be revealed then.
The Capitals say that John Carlson (upper-body) will take the morning skate tomorrow and then they’ll determine his status against the Winnipeg Jets. He missed his first game of the season last night.
— Katie Adler (@katieEadler) November 16, 2025