Washington Capitals place defenseman John Carlson on injured reserve

Washington Capitals Senior Vice President, General Manager and Alternate Governor Brian MacLellan has announced that defenseman John Carlson has been placed on injured reserve (IR). 

Carlson left the Dec. 23rd, 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets after taking a slap shot to the face from Jets defender Brenden Dillon. Carlson collapsed to the ice in a significant amount of pain and was helped off the ice. Upon further evaluation, Carlson was transported to the hospital for precautionary reasons and was discharged Saturday. 

Capitals Head Coach, Peter Laviolette confirmed that Carlson is out “long term” and will miss more than the standard 7 days for players placed on IR. A major blow to the Capitals club who have made their way back into playoff contention.  

Carlson, who suffered a lower-body injury and missed six games at the start of the season, leads all Capitals defensemen in goals and assists with 8 and 13 respectively. The 32-year-old has 21 points in 30 games this year while leading the club in ice time with 23:24. Last season, he recorded a whopping 71 points (17G, 54A) in 78 games. Carlson who was drafted 27th overall in the 2008 NHL Draft is in his 14th season with the Capitals and has accumulated 614 points through 917 career games. 

The Capitals are also without defenseman Martin Fehervary who was placed on IR on Dec. 3rd. However, they did activate Russian defenseman Alexander Alexeyev off of IR, he has been a healthy scratch for two games. The Capitals also recalled defenseman Lucas Johansen from their AHL affiliate Hershey Bears. Johansen has two points in 13 AHL games this season. The Capitals are fifth in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 19-13-4 and will play the New York Rangers Tuesday.