Capitals’ van Riemsdyk leaves Game 3 with upper-body injury

For a blueline already riddled with injuries, another Washington Capitals defenseman has suffered an ailment.

During Game 3 of the team’s Metropolitan Division Semifinal against the New York Rangers, Capitals defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk left the game during the first period due to an upper-body injury.

During the opening period on Friday night, when chasing the puck back into his own zone, van Riemsdyk was hit hard into the endboards by Rangers forward Matt Rempe. Van Riemsdyk was able to skate off the ice under his own power, but never returned to the game.

Rempe was given an interference penalty on the play.

Van Riemsdyk’s teammate, Tom Wilson, tried to get Rempe to fight in the second period, but the rookie declined.

The 32-year-old has played in the first two games of the series, averaging over 20 minutes. Van Riemsdyk was a minus-three in the Rangers’ 4-1 win in Game 1 last week.

If van Riemsdyk misses time, that opens another hole on Washington’s blueline. The team is already without Nick Jensen and Rasmus Sandin, though both of them were game-time decisions prior to Friday night’s game.

Van Riemsdyk had been in and out of the lineup throughout the season, having been placed on injured reserve in November with a lower-body injury. The Middletown, New Jersey native was a healthy scratch a handful of times during the second half of the season. In 70 regular-season games, van Riemsdyk registered 14 assists, marking the first time since the 2014-15 season that he failed to register a goal in an NHL season.

In 601 career NHL games, he has scored 24 goals and 102 assists, including four points in 35 playoff games.