Capitals defenseman John Carlson out indefinitely 

It largely went under the radar last night with Alex Ovechkin passing Gordie Howe for second in all-time NHL goals but Capitals defenseman John Carlson was taken to the hospital yesterday after taking a Brenden Dillon slap shot directly to the head early in the third period.  Today, the team announced (Twitter link) the following update:

John Carlson was transported to a local hospital for further evaluation following his injury during the third period of Friday’s game vs. WPG. Carlson was discharged from the hospital earlier today and remains under the care of team medical personnel. He is out indefinitely.

The fact that Carlson has been discharged is certainly promising but an indefinite timeline is hardly ideal for a Washington team that is narrowly holding onto the second and final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.  The 32-year-old leads all Capitals blueliners with 21 points in 30 games while logging over 23 minutes per game for the sixth straight season.

With Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson both starting to make progress toward returning, it looked like the Capitals were finally starting to get some good luck on the injury side of things.  Now, that optimism has been quelled somewhat with Carlson potentially being out for a little while now.