The Capitals announced today that Andre Burakovsky is not taking part of their practice today due to an injury. According to the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan, Burakovsky sustained an upper-body injury when he got hooked in the final minutes of the Capitals’ 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Monday. 

#Caps Andre Burakovsky (upper body) will not skate today.

— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) October 23, 2017

Khurshudyan also said that Burakovsky appeared to be in pain heading back to the bench following that shift. He took off his left glove and clenched his hand.

This is the last thing the Capitals need with Matt Niskanen still on long-term injured reserve and will not be eligible to play until November 7 when the Capitals play at the Buffalo Sabres. Tyler Graovac also got hurt in last Tuesday’s 2-0 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on home ice and coach Barry Trotz said that he is out week-to-week.

Trotz said he doesn't know if Burakovsky will travel with the team to Western Canada. Graovac will not make the trip.

— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) October 23, 2017

The Capitals put forward Alex Chiasson in the top nine with Lars Eller and Brett Connolly in practice today, where Burakovsky was on Saturday against the Panthers.

After going scoreless through the first seven games, Burakovsky scored his first goal of the season on Friday against the Detroit Red Wings. Burakovsky missed over a month last season due to a hand injury. Through nine games this season, Burakovsky has a goal and four points with a -2 rating in the team’s first 9 games. He also has 17 penalty minutes, which must come to a halt sooner rather than later.

The Capitals start their western Canada road trip on Thursday night in Vancouver against the Canucks. They will be in Alberta taking on the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames over the weekend, so hopefully Burakovsky has enough time to heal.

By Harrison Brown