There was no call on the play as the Capitals defenseman left the game.
There was no call on the play as the Capitals defenseman left the game.
The Washington Capitals have lost a key defenseman and are again shorthanded on the blue line, as Vincent Iorio has left Game 1 against the New York Rangers with an upper-body injury following a heavy hit.
Iorio was trying to skate the puck out of the defensive zone when he was hit from behind into the boards by Alexis Lafreniere.
The 21-year-old went down in visible pain as New York went on a 3-on-1 break, converting and going up 2-0 thanks to a shot from Artemi Panarin.
Iorio went to the locker room, and he is questionable to return. There was no call on the play.
It's a tough break for the Capitals, who are already without the services of second-pairing defensemen Rasmus Sandin and Nick Jensen. Both Sandin and Jensen were also injured on big hits along the boards.
Iorio appeared in six games to close out the regular season for Washington, posting a plus/minus of plus-1 while averaging 9:50 minutes a night.
He was making his playoff debut in New York and skated just 1:50 minutes.