The NHL postseason is less than two weeks away, and the Washington Capitals are currently without two key pieces of their lineup-- goaltender Logan Thompson and forward Aliaksei Protas. Following morning skate, head coach Spencer Carbery made himself available to the media, providing injury updates on both star players.
Spencer Carbery on concern level for Logan Thompson (upper) and Aliaksei Protas (lower) being ready for start of playoffs:
«We'll see next week. I think both are progressing. We'll see how it looks next week. But too early to talk about 2 weeks from now or 10 days or whatever.»
Unfortunately, in the following game against the Chicago Blackhawks on April 4, forward Aliaksei Protas sustained a gruesome skate blade injury after a collision with a Blackhawks player, requiring him to be helped off the ice.
Hopefully, both Aliaksei Protas and Logan Thompson will be ready by then, but based on Spencer Carbery's demeanour in the press conference, nothing is guaranteed, and the updates didn't sound overly convincing.
For now, it's an opportunity for other depth players, including Charlie Lindgren and Hunter Shepard, to step up and find different ways to contribute if the Capitals don't have them ready by late April.