📸: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
Nic Dowd was a surprise scratch in the Washington Capitals’ 7-4 win against the Edmonton Oilers, and he’ll remain out of the lineup on Thursday as the team takes to the road to face the Montreal Canadiens north of the border.
The 35-year-old centerman is ailing from an unspecified upper-body injury.
“He won’t travel, and then we’ll reassess when we get back,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said, giving a brief update postgame.
Dowd, missing both games of the back-to-back, comes after taking the morning skate ahead of Wednesday’s game and playing 19:21 against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday. But something appeared amiss when he was absent for warmups against the Oilers.
On the season, Dowd has recorded five points (1g, 4a) in 19 games, averaging 15:07 of ice time per game. Connor McMichael centered the third line with Dowd out against the Oilers — he earned a promotion to the second line late in the game — and Sonny Milano got a jersey for the first time since November 6 against Pittsburgh.
If the Capitals opt to call someone up from Hershey, the team is nearby in Cleveland for two games, Thursday and Saturday.
Puck drop for the Capitals-Canadiens game is 7 pm at Bell Centre.