The Washington Capitals have announced that defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk has left Saturday’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets with a lower-body injury.
van Riemsdyk, 32, suffered the injury early in the first period of the game when his right skate hit the kick plate on the boards awkwardly after Justin Danforth pressured him along the boards during a dump-in play. There’s no word about how severe the injury is, or how long van Riemsdyk will be out of the lineup to recover from the injury. He finished the game with nothing on his statline in 1:34 before he went to the dressing room, with the score still tied 0-0 at the time of his departure.
van Riemsdyk hasn’t generated much offensively so far this season, with just one assist in ten games on the year. He’s better known for his ability to drive play, with his 52.27% 5v5 expected goal share since 2020 ranking 48th among defensemen with 2500 minutes played in that span, all while playing against some of the other team’s best players.
van Riemsdyk was a college free agent signing by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2014, and he spent three seasons in Chicago before he was selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft and traded shortly after to the Carolina Hurricanes. He spent another three seasons in Carolina before going to unrestricted free agency and signing with the Caps.
van Riemsdyk is currently in the first year of a three-year contract with a $3 million cap hit, a deal he signed as an extension with the Caps toward the end of the 2022-23 season.
Martin Fehervary appears to have slotted into van Riemsdyk’s role in the top four alongside Rasmus Sandin, a pairing that has a 75% 5v5 expected goal share in a small sample size of 3:03 so far this season. Fehervary has been held pointless through nine games going into Saturday’s game against the Blue Jackets. Should van Riemsdyk’s injury keep him out long-term, the Capitals currently have Lucas Johansen and Hardy Haman-Aktell on the roster as well to substitute into the lineup.
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