Forward Pierre-Luc Dubois is going to miss an extended period of time, according to head coach Spencer Carbery.
Dubois, 27, played 6:02 of the Captials’ 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Friday before leaving the game with a lower-body injury.
Carbery added that the team is still running tests and it is still unclear if Dubois will need surgery.
#ALLCAPS center Pierre-Luc Dubois is going to be out for an extended period of time, per Coach Spencer Carbery.
Will undergo more testing. Still unclear if he’ll require surgery.
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) November 3, 2025
“It’s a huge hole,” Carbery told reporters on Monday. [He was] arguably right up there last year with one of the most valuable and most important players on our roster. I’m not going to sit here and sugar coat it and say you can re place him at this point in the year, but you can still be a good hockey team and win a lot of hockey games with injuries.
“That’s part of the attrition that you need to be able to handle in this league. So, that’s what we’ll focus on. He’s out and now we’ll need other players to step up.”
The 6-foot-4 centre appeared in six games this season without recording a points and previously missed six games with a separate lower-body issue.
Dubois was acquired from the Los Angeles Kings in June of 2024 in exchange for goaltender Darcy Kuemper.
He recorded 20 goals and 66 points in 82 games with the Capitals last season as the team finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference at 51-22-9. Dubois added three assists in the playoffs before the Capitals were eliminated in the second round by the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Capitals have a 6-5-1 record to begin this season and sit in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division heading into Monday’s action.