Washington DC-The Capitals may have lost more than a game in tonight's 6-0 defeat at the hands of the New York Rangers. They could be down a defenseman for a while.
Mike Green, back after missing six of Washington's last seven games with inner ear trauma, left the game early in the first period after taking an elbow to the head from Derek Stepan. He did not return and will miss tomorrow's game in New York against the Islanders according to Bruce Boudreau.
"He's day-to-day. He's not gonna play tomorrow," said Boudreau following the game. "Right now it's cautionary. I don't know his status because I haven't talked to the doctors yet."
Green took a puck to the side of his head in a game against the Penguins on Super Bowl Sunday. He did not travel with the team on their recent road trip in an effort to recover. The Capitals are obviously concerned about his status given the concussions sustained by Sidney Crosby, Brad Richards, and Marian Gaborik this season. They will be cautious after this latest setback and as such Green will not be making the trip to New York tomorrow.
Also of note, Nicklas Backstrom did play against the Rangers despite an injury to his thumb, but he only took one faceoff. His linemates Alex Ovechkin and Mike Knuble took his spot in the dot as a precaution. Boudreau said such an occurrence is not uncommon in the NHL.