ARLINGTON, V.A. — The Washington Capitals will have to make do without one of their top performers, as rookie Ryan Leonard will miss an "extended period of time" with injury after taking a high hit from Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba on Friday.

Per coach Spencer Carbery, Leonard will see doctors on Sunday, but will not be in the lineup for the foreseeable future. From the sound of it, the 20-year-old is dealing with multiple after effects from the check, which happened as Leonard was wheeling around the net.

"It's just part of playing in the NHL is dealing with adversity... there's all sorts of things that you're going to go through in your career and injuries is one of them," Carbery said. "Having it happen at this point in his career early on when he was having some success, no doubt, unfortunate and frustrating but I have no doubt he'll be back and ready to go when he is and get right back."

Leonard was on a four-game point streak and ranked fourth among rookies in scoring entering Friday's contest. He has also played a pivotal role in turning around the Capitals' power play.

There is no supplemental discipline coming for Trouba, and while Carbery understands the NHL's decision, he still urged the league to take action to address head shots.

"To me, there's just something we have to do as a league, and I don't know where this goes, if anything, is just the head contact is the key," Carbery said. "That's the key to all of this, is the head contact, and whether he's low and he's in a very, very vulnerable spot... it looks old school to me, like hunting a player that's in a vulnerable spot."

With Leonard out, Bogdan Trineyev is up to serve as an extra forward, while Sonny Milano will draw back into the mix.

Washington faces the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday at 7 p.m.