ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals were handed a major blow on Tuesday, when the team announced that defenseman Martin Fehervary underwent surgery on his meniscus and will miss the remainder of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

One of their most important blueliners, Fehervary has played a key shutdown role all year long and is also first over the boards on the penalty kill. He's mainly been paired with Matt Roy, who will have to adapt now without his longtime D partner.

"It's a huge loss," Roy said.

"Really feel for him," coach Spencer Carbery added. "My heart hurts for him, because he's an unsung hero for our team. If you know the Washington Capitals and if you’re around our team and if you watch our team, he’s someone that goes unnoticed, that the rest of the hockey world probably doesn’t pay much attention to, but he’s a big part of our team. He competes his butt off every single day, every single night. Lays it on the line."

With Fehervary out of the picture, Alex Alexeyev, who required "significant dental work" after taking a high stick from Jake Evans at the end of Game 1, will remain in the lineup and is good to go for Game 2.

The Russian blueliner only appeared in eight games during the regular season, but looked strong in Game 1, held his own and made smart decisions. He was a plus-1 through 14:02 minutes.

Behind Alexeyev, Ethan Bear appears to be the next man up, as he's been playing the left side since being called up before the postseason. Dylan McIlrath is the other healthy defenseman.

All the while, Carbery will be looking to the rest of the blue line — along with the forwards up front — to step up and help fill the void collectively.

"This is where the character of your group has to come through. It has to start from the coaching staff. Marty is a great player. He's a big part of our team. But we absolutely can still win, no disrespect to Marty. We can absolutely play well and still win hockey games without him," Carbery said, adding, "That means we have guys that can step into the lineup like Alexander Alexeyev and pick up the slack. Everybody inside of our group, not just our D-core, everyone inside our group, forwards included, coaches included, goaltenders included, can do a little bit more to make up for losing a significant player."