The Washington Capitals are coming off another loss, this time to the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-2. The Caps may be celebrating Alex Ovechkin's 900th goal, but they are also mourning the results of the season so far. They just received more bad news, as Pierre-Luc Dubois will be out for 3-4 months.
The Capitals announced on X, formerly Twitter, that Luc-Dubois underwent surgery for an abdominal and adductor injury and now will be out for 3-4 months. Luc-Dubois was injured in the 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders, but did not have a point in his six games so far.
“No, we do not think it's going to be season-ending, just an extended period of time at this point,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said immediately after the injury.
Dubois was the third overall pick of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the 2016 NHL Draft. He was traded during the 2020-21 season to the Winnipeg Jets. The forward would be traded again to the Los Angeles Kings ahead of the 2023-24 season, but after just one year, was sent to the Capitals in the summer of 2024.
Dubois was a major part of the Capitals' run last year. In that season, he found the back of the net 20 times while adding 46 helpers. He should return to the lineup sometime in late February or early March.
Dubois was on the second line for the Caps, and now will be replaced by Connor McMichael to go along with Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson. McMichael has been solid so far this year, scoring one goal and three assists. Meanwhile, the success of the second line will be massive. Both Protas and Wilson have had good years so far. Wilson leads the team with 16 points, while also holding the team lead with nine goals. Protas is tied for fourth on the team with ten points.
The Capitals are 7-7-1 on the year. They hit the ice again on Tuesday on the road against the Carolina Hurricanes.
