Capitals’ Rasmus Sandin to return from five-game absence

The Washington Capitals are going to receive some reinforcements for their matchup with the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday night.

When speaking to the media, head coach Spencer Carbery revealed that defenseman Rasmus Sandin will be in the lineup against the Blues, marking his first appearance in five games.

Sandin has been out of action due to an upper-body, and has been day-to-day since the last time he was in the lineup on Oct. 21 against the Seattle Kraken. In that game, the Swedish blueliner played a season-low 15:01 of ice time in a 4-1 victory. He had appeared in each of the Capitals’ first seven games of the 2025-26 season, posting just two assists thus far. His points came just a few days before suffering the injury against the Vancouver Canucks this past Sunday and the Minnesota Wild.

The 25-year-old is coming off the best season of his NHL career. In playing all 82 games, he posted career highs in assists (26) and points (30). Sandin also notched an assist in 10 playoff games, as the Capitals made it to the second round before being eliminated by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Although Sandin was once regarded as a rising star with the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier in his career, he has truly found a home in Washington, providing the team with some stability on the back end.

In 316 regular-season affairs in the NHL, Sandin has scored 20 goals and 98 assists for 118 points. He’s also posted two points in 16 postseason games.

The Capitals (6-5-0) are hoping Sandin can give the team a boost after a few rough games. Washington enters Wednesday night after losing all three games on the team’s recent road trip, including a 4-3 shootout loss to the Buffalo Sabres last Saturday. The Caps have dropped five of their last seven games as well.