The Washington Capitals’ list of injured players is growing.
The Capitals on Monday placed center Nic Dowd on injured reserve with a lower-body injury. He joins Nicklas Backstrom (hip) and T.J. Oshie (lower body) on the shelf.
The designation is retroactive to Oct. 27, so the earliest Dowd could return is Thursday against Florida.
Dowd, 31, missed the Capitals’ games last Monday and Friday but played on Wednesday. The fourth-line center was seen skating at practice on Sunday morning and is traveling with the team on its two-game road trip in Florida this week.
Replacing Dowd on the roster will be center Aliaksei Protas, who was recalled from Hershey on Monday. Protas, 20, has one goal and three assists in six games for Hershey this season. He has not appeared in an NHL game.
Protas was drafted by Washington in the third round of the 2019 NHL Draft.
Oshie was placed on injured reserve on Oct. 29 after he took a shot off his right foot in the team’s overtime loss to Detroit on Oct. 27. Backstrom was put on long-term injured reserve the day before the season began with a hip injury from last season.
Both players are eligible to return as early as Nov. 6 against Philadelphia.
• Jacob Calvin Meyer can be reached at jmeyer@washingtontimes.com.
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