When Washington hosted Colorado this past Sunday, Ethen Frank logged a scant 1:22 on the ice.
Frank, 28, went down hurt at the 9:26 mark of the opening period, when Colorado's Devon Toews, a defenseman, drove him forcefully into the post. Seconds before that, the winger had been crashing toward the cage and managed to test goalie MacKenzie Blackwood, only to get a shove in the back from Toews.
He stayed down inside Colorado's crease, plainly in pain, then eventually rose, departed the playing surface, and walked up the tunnel toward Washington's room. By all appearances he was protecting his left side.
Once the opening break began, the team confirmed that a knock to the lower body would sideline Frank for what remained.
Frank had again been deployed on Washington's fourth trio for this contest, lining up at right wing alongside Brandon Duhaime and Hendrix Lapierre.
INJURY UPDATE:#Caps Ethen Frank sustained a lower body injury and will not return to today’s game. — Capitals PR (@CapitalsPR) March 22, 2026
For now Washington keeps a couple of surplus forwards available, David Kampf plus Ivan Miroshnichenko. The young Russian has been scratched while healthy across eight straight contests; Kampf, meanwhile, has stayed out owing to visa snags and the recent arrival of a second kid. Whether Kampf joins the squad for its coming trip is still uncertain.
Bench boss Spencer Carbery had recently voiced a wish to get the young winger some game action soon. Across this campaign the 22-year-old has dressed for four Washington outings.