Not only did the Capitals suffer a disappointing shootout loss tonight in a game that they led 4-1 at the second intermission, they have now also reportedly lost an important member of the defense for a month or more.
Bruce Boudreau revealed in the postgame press conference that Jeff Schultz suffered a fractured thumb, and is likely to miss 4-6 weeks. According to Scott Chamberlain of TBD.com, the injury occurred midway through the second period.
Schultz had played in all 29 games so far this season for the Capitals and logged 10:32 of ice time in Monday night's game before suffering the injury, which appeared to happen late in the second period while the Capitals were killing a penalty. A shot from Toronto defenseman Luke Schenn appeared to hit Schultz in the hand, and the Washington player did not return to the ice with the rest of the team after the second intermission.
As pointed out by SB Nation's Capitals blog Japers Rink, Schultz is likely to miss the Winter Classic, which must be disappointing not only to the player, but also to the organization.
On a seperate yet also related note, we also tonight have the answer to the earlier question of which Capitals player would be placed on injured reserve. Tyler Sloan will head to IR due to a hip flexor, but he'll be able to return on Dec. 12. Schultz, on the other hand, may be out until mid-Jan.