Capitals defenseman to miss postseason with ankle injury

The Washington Capitals have announced that defenseman Martin Fehérváry will miss the entirety of the postseason after undergoing surgery to address a meniscus injury in his right knee. Fehérváry sustained the injury in the final game of Washington’s regular season. The injury held him out of Washington’s playoff opener on Monday. In his place, the Capitals utilized depth defenseman Alexander Alexeyev, who only appeared in eight regular-season games this season.

Fehérváry was getting run as a top-pair defenseman in Washington’s final few games. He averaged just under 20 minutes of ice time through his final 10 games of the season, bringing his season-long average up to an even 19 minutes per game. Fehérváry showed well in his middling role in the lineup, with 25 points and a plus-18 in 81 games — all career-highs. He’s proven to be an effective defender on his side of the blue line, with a long reach and strong physical play that made him the set-back match for aggressive partners like Matt Roy and John Carlson. Fehérváry was set to be leaned on heavily through the postseason, on a left-hand side that would have made the Capitals formidable, behind Jakob Chychrun and Rasmus Sandin.

Instead, the Capitals will have to turn towards the untested Alexeyev in their must-win matchups. Unfortunately, even that plan may be knocked awry after Alexeyev lost some teeth in the third period of Game 1. He was hit in the mouth by the skate of Montreal Canadiens forward Jake Evans and had to leave the game, only to return during the overtime period. Head coach Spencer Carbery shared postgame that Alexeyev would need some “significant dental work” after the incident, per NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti.

It’s unclear if Alexeyev will need to sit out of Game 2. If he does, the absence will be another pile on the string of injuries and absences that held Alexeyev to just 11 games combined between the NHL and AHL this season. He underwent shoulder surgery at the end of the 2023-24 campaign, with a rehab that dragged into the summer. Alexeyev went on to miss time due to personal reasons and routine healthy scratches throughout this season. He managed no scoring in eight NHL games, but did have two assists in three AHL games — production that Washington will need to tap into this spring. If Alexeyev is forced to miss time, the Capitals will have to turn to extra defenseman Ethan Bear. Bear was the star of the AHL’s Hershey Bears this season, with a team-leading 46 points in 62 games. He is the only extra defenseman on Washington’s roster, though they could also recall Vincent Iorio or Brad Hunt from the minor leagues.