Capitals’ Jakob Chychrun out day-to-day with upper-body injury

After leaving Tuesday’s game against the New York Rangers, Washington Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun is out day-to-day due to an upper-body injury.

Chychrun suffered the injury early in the first period after appearing to receive contact along the boards while chasing the puck, and left the game after just two shifts in the game. Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery mentioned in his post-game press conference that there was a little concern about the injury, but didn’t know the details at the time.

Chychrun had two giveaways and a takeaway in 1:50 of ice time, as the Caps went on to beat the Rangers by a score of 5-3.

Chychrun was off to a solid start this season before going down with the injury, as he had 2 goals and 2 assists for 4 points in 8 games. That put him on pace to tie his career high of 41 points, which he set twice in 2020-21 and 2023-24.

With Chychrun out of the lineup for most of the game, Martin Fehervary replaced him on the top pair alongside John Carlson. Fehervary has just 1 assist in 8 games so far this season.

Should Chychrun miss a few games, it’s likely that Alex Alexeyev will get more of a full-time role in the lineup, especially with Matt Roy missing time as well. Alexeyev has yet to play a game this season, but has been on the Capitals roster all season.

Chychrun is in the final year of a six-year contract with a $4.6 million cap hit, and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.

Despite the injuries to Roy and now Chychrun, the Caps currently find themselves with six wins in their last seven games, and will look to continue that run when they host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday at 7 p.m. EST. Washington currently sits in third in the Metropolitan Division with a 6-2-0 record.