After missing the Washington Capitals’ last game against the Philadelphia Flyers due to a family matter, Center Lars Eller was back in the lineup for the teams’ Thursday night tilt. The welcome return of the versatile forward was short-lived, however, as Eller exited the game in the first period with a lower-body injury.

At around the 15:00 time stamp of the opening frame, Eller went in behind Washington goaltender Ilya Samsonov to retrieve the puck, and can be seen lifting his right leg in discomfort, a motion he repeats as he makes his way back up ice.

Point where Lars pulled-up, flexing right leg. pic.twitter.com/quthkM71yz

— #ALLCAPS (@JonItBe) March 14, 2021

According to the Capitals, Eller would not return to the game.

#Caps Lars Eller sustained a lower body injury and will not return. #CapsFlyers

— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) March 14, 2021

Eller, who has 12 points this season, missed the Caps’ last game against the Flyers due to a family matter, and was expected to miss tonight’s game as well, but was in the lineup for puck drop.  He played a total of 1:29 on three shifts before exiting the game.

Laviolette: update on Eller, “lower body”. He is “day-to-day”.#ALLCAPS

— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) March 14, 2021

By Michael Fleetwood