Not only did the Washington Capitals lose Pierre-Luc Dubois to injury, but Rasmus Sandin left the team’s 6-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins early on Saturday as well.
As Sandin tried to make his way through a faceoff scrum in the third period, he was clipped by a hip check from Penguins forward Justin Brazeau. The 26-year-old Swede immediately crumpled to the ice and began writhing in pain as he grabbed at the back of his right leg.
Officials blew the play dead, and the Capitals’ head athletic trainer, Jason Serbus, was led out onto the ice. Sandin needed to be carried off the ice by Brandon Duhaime and Justin Sourdif before the training staff led him down the tunnel.
The referees and linesmen met to discuss the play, which looked to be interference on Brazeau’s part, but chose not to assess any penalties.
Sandin, who has been skating on the team’s top defense pairing with Martin Fehervary, played 15:35 of ice time before departing the game. He had fired one shot on goal and thrown one hit. After the game, head coach Spencer Carbery said the team would know more about Sandin’s status later.
“Yeah, we’ll find out more tonight,” Cabery said. “I’ll talk to Serbs [on] that. So I’ll give you an update tomorrow.”
With him out of action, the remaining five defensemen all played over 19 minutes in the win, with Jakob Chychrun leading the way at 23:09. The Capitals are currently carrying three extra defensemen, with Timothy Liljegren, Declan Chisholm, and Dylan McIlrath serving as healthy scratches in recent weeks.
Sandin has played in 73 of the Capitals’ 80 games this season, averaging 19:12 of ice time per game and recording 29 points (5g, 24a). His most extended absence was for five games after an upper-body injury suffered in October.