The Washington Capitals are riding a high after an impressive 3-2 overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens, but the victory didn't come without its fair share of drama. Defenceman Alex Alexeyev took a brutal high stick during the game and will reportedly need significant dental work as a result.
The Washington Capitals are so banged up with injuries, they've had no choice but to lean heavily on reinforcements from the Hershey Bears.
One of the standout call-ups has been defenceman Alex Alexeyev, who's quietly emerged a key piece on the blue-line.
But just as he was getting into a bigger role, more bad luck struck the Caps'.
Alex Alexeyev takes nasty high-stick from Jake Evans
Late in the third period, Alexeyev took a vicious high stick from Canadiens forward Jake Evans-- an incident that's now set to require major dental surgery.
According to RMNB, The Capitals' 2018 first-round pick played 14:01 of ice time before the high stick took him out of the game. He recorded one shot on goal, two individual shot attempts, two hits, and three shot blocks.
Head coach Spencer Carbery shared an update on Alexeyev postgame, saying the 25-year-old Russian rearguard is in need of «significant dental work.» Alexeyev missed the final 2:28 of the third period but did return for overtime, although he did not take a shift in the final frame before Alex Ovechkin's game-winning goal.
«I thought he was good tonight,» Carbery said. «Coming into the lineup, I know he's played three games down the stretch. I thought this was one of his strongest games, and we needed it, and he did a good job. He defended well, had some good situations down low that I'm thinking of in the defensive zone, moved pucks. That's what you want. You just want reliable minutes, and I thought Al provided that tonight.»
We'll continue to provide updates on his condition following the procedure.