Washington Capitals head coach Todd Reirden met with the media following Tuesday’s practice. Reirden stated that defenseman John Carlson would be a game time decision for Game 1 against the New York Islanders on Wednesday.
John Carlson will be a game-time decision for Game 1, per Reirden.
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) August 11, 2020
Reirden said that all players practiced today, implying Carlson did as well.
Reirden said everyone practiced today and John Carlson will be a game-time decision for Game 1. #Caps
— Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) August 11, 2020
Carlson left the Capitals’ exhibition game against the Carolina Hurricanes after crashing into the boards in the third period. His legs got tangled in his skates and fell into the boards. He skated off under his own power.
Regarding Carlson .. here’s where he went down. pic.twitter.com/2L3VNKovVE
— Here’s Your Replay 2 ⬇️ (@TheReplayGuy) July 29, 2020
The 30-year-old got down the tunnel on his own.
Carlson would return and skate one more shift (34 seconds) before coming out of the game for good.
Carlson also participated in the team’s following two practices, however he would not play in any of the Capitals three round robin games.
By Jon Sorensen
Strange injury. Skated a full shift after, and participated in the next two practices following the injury.
My guess is just being extra cautious. He’s big for the powerplay (when it’s set up) and the round robin was only a nice warmup for the teams not playing a series. I bet he will play. Go Caps!