Friday's historic night for Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals wasn't entirely joyous, as defenseman John Carlson left the game after taking a slap shot to the side of the head and didn't return.
Scary moment as John Carlson takes a slapshot to the face. Hoping he's okay. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Bx89BnPdRK
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) December 24, 2022
Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette said postgame that Carlson was transported to a local hospital for a precautionary evaluation, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti.
Ovechkin said everyone was thinking about John Carlson in third period
— Tom Gulitti (@TomGulittiNHL) December 24, 2022
Carlson is an indispensable member of the Caps. He paces Washington's blue-liners with 21 points in 30 games and entered Friday leading the team in average time on ice (23:39).
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