Can the Capitals turn their season around?

After a long period of sustained success, many expected that the Washington Capitals would have to take a step back sooner or later, and it appears that might be happening here in 2022-23. The team currently sits four points back of a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference after 26 games, nearly one-third of the season. There is room for optimism though, not just because there’s 56 games left in their season, but much of their struggle can be blamed on injury issues in the first part of the season. While some players have come back, some are still missing and there is, of course, plenty more opportunity for more injuries.

The Athletic’s Tarik El-Bashir spoke with Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette earlier this afternoon to get updates on a number of Washington injuries. On defenseman Martin Fehervary and goaltender Darcy Kuemper, who both sustained upper-body injuries last night in Calgary, Laviolette tells El-Bashir that both are considered day-to-day. As discussed earlier, this may necessitate a goalie recall from the Hershey Bears, Washington’s AHL affiliate, and El-Bashir later confirmed that Fehervary will not play tomorrow in Edmonton. Finally, on Dmirty Orlov, who’s missed 12 games, the defenseman did skate today with the other Capitals scratches but is unlikely to play tomorrow, according to El-Bashir. Overall, this seems to be good news for the Capitals, Orlov perhaps inching closer, discussed earlier as well, with Fehervary and Kuemper seemingly not expected to miss too much time.

• New York Islanders head coach Lane Lambert provided a few updates on his injured players ahead of tonight’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks. As Newsday’s Andrew Gross reports, both Kyle Palmieri, who is on IR, and Cal Clutterbuck, who is not, remain out of the lineup tonight, Lambert adding that Palmieri has yet to resume skating. Both players are dealing with upper-body injuries. On top of the two veterans, Lambert added that another forward is a game-time decision, not elaborating any further than that. The Islanders had called up forwards Simon Holmstrom, Cole Bardreau, and Hudson Fasching to fill the void, but have since sent Bardreau back to the AHL, recalling Robin Salo earlier this afternoon.
• A sad bit of news, as the Edmonton Journal’s Jim Matheson reports that longtime scout Barry Fraser passed away this morning at the age of 82. Professionally, Fraser was best known for being an instrumental piece in building the Edmonton Oilers. The entire staff of PHR sends their condolences to Fraser’s family and friends.