John Carlson out indefinitely

It went largely under the radar last night Alexi Ovechkin in passing Gordie Howe second all-time in NHL goals, but a defenseman for the Capitals John Carlson was taken to the hospital after being admitted yesterday Brenden Dillon a blow shot straight to the head early in the third round. Today the team announced (Twitter link) next update:

John Carlson was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation following his injury during Friday’s game against WPG. Carlson was released from the hospital earlier today and remains under the care of the team’s medical staff. He is gone for now.

Carlson’s dismissal is certainly promising, but an indefinite timeline is hardly ideal for a Washington team that is clinging to the second and final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. The 32-year-old leads all Capitals blueliners with 21 points in 30 games and played more than 23 minutes per game for the sixth straight season.

With Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson both began to make progress toward a comeback, it seemed as if the Capitals were finally starting to get lucky on the injury side. Now, that optimism has been somewhat dampened with Carlson potentially out for a while.