The Washington Capitals will catch a bit of a break on the injury front when they play the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 2 of their 2011 NHL Playoffs second-round series. Not only will defensemen John Carlson play after suffering an injury in the second period of Game 1 Friday, but the Lightning will be without two key veterans, as Left winger Simon Gagne and defensemen Pavel Kubina will not play in Game 2.
Simon Gagne and Pavel Kubina are out for TB. Blair Jones and Randy Jones are in. #WasTBL
The concern with both is that they may have sustained concussions. Gagne in particular is worth worrying about after he took a vicious hit from Scott Hannan early in Game 1. Lightning coach Guy Boucher said that both are day-to-day and could return when the series shifts to Tampa Bay on Tuesday and Wednesday. In the meantime, Tampa Bay will have less depth up front and on its blue line.