📸: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
John Carlson played just one period for the Washington Capitals against the Nashville Predators on Thursday night.
Carlson took nine shifts in the first period but didn’t take the ice again once the second period began. Midway through the frame, the Capitals announced that Carlson suffered a lower-body injury and would not return to the game.
INJURY UPDATE: #Caps defenseman John Carlson (lower body) will not return to tonight’s game.
— Capitals PR (@CapitalsPR) February 6, 2026
The veteran rearguard played 7:03 of ice time before departing back to the Capitals’ locker room. He registered the secondary assist on Pierre-Luc Dubois’s first-period goal while also putting one shot on goal and registering two shot blocks.
Carlson has 46 points (10g, 36a) in 55 games this year. He missed four games earlier this season due to two separate upper-body injuries.
The Capitals’ matchup with the Predators is their last before the NHL’s break for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Declan Chisholm and Dylan McIlrath served as the team’s two extra defensemen on Thursday night.