The 33-year-old suffered an injury scare on Monday.
The Washington Capitals can share a sigh of relief, as Nic Dowd has returned to Monday's game against the San Jose Sharks after leaving with an apparent injruy.
With just around 14 minutes to go in the opening frame, Dowd was in front of the net battling with Nico Sturm before colliding with him and also appearing to take a deflected puck to the throat/neck area. The 33-year-old went down in visible pain and was tended to by athletic trainer Jason Serbus before heading off the ice.
Here's what happened:
Evgeny Kuznetsov was double shifting in his place until he returned with nearly two minutes left in the opening frame.
The center recently made his return from an upper-body injury that held him out for nine games at the start of the 2023-24 season. He underwent core surgery in the offseason.