The Capitals saw two key players go down with injury on Saturday.
The Washington Capitals saw two key players in Pierre-Luc Dubois and Rasmus Sandin go down with injury on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Dubois suffered an upper-body injury early in the second period, going hard into the end boards after setting up Ryan Leonard's first goal of the game. He then got up and went immediately down the tunnel before being ruled out for the remainder of the game.
The 27-year-old had missed 47 games earlier in the season after undergoing adduction surgery back in November. He has 17 points in 27 games this season, including eight in the last five overall.
Then, in the third period, Sandin took a hip check from Justin Brazeau, and his leg buckled on the play as he went down hard on the ice. Sandin was in visible discomfort and grabbing his right leg, and was attended to by Jason Serbus. He was then helped off by his teammates and made his way down the tunnel with trainers, not putting any weight on that right leg.
Sandin has been playing top-pairing minutes with Martin Fehervary and ranks second in scoring among Washington defensemen this season with 29 points in 72 games.
Losing both players to injury is tough for the Capitals, who play again on Sunday at home against Pittsburgh before closing out the season on Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. D.C. is in a must-win situation in these final games with the playoffs on the line.