Written by Tom Gulitti at NHL.com
Washington Capitals Defenseman Karl Alzner will miss his second straight game with an upper-body injury when the Capitals face the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round at Air Canada Centre on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports 2, CSN-DC).
Alzner, 28, did not participate in the Capitals’ optional practice Tuesday and has not been on the ice since a 4-3 double-overtime loss to the Maple Leafs in Game 2 at Verizon Center on Saturday.
#Caps Karl Alzner will not play GM4 vs #Leafs, per Barry Trotz. Alzner out w upper-body injury @CapitalsRadio @WTOPSports
— Ben Raby (@BenRaby31) April 18, 2017
Karl Alzner’s out again for Game 4 https://t.co/ce8gylMd9D
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) April 18, 2017
“He’s out right now and he won’t play [Wednesday],” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said.
Alzner had played in 599 consecutive games, including the regular season and the Stanley Cup Playoffs, before missing the Capitals’ 4-3 overtime loss in Game 3 on Monday. Before that, the last time Washington played a game without Alzner was Game 6 of the 2010 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on April 26, 2010.
Alzner’s streak of 540 consecutive regular season games is the fifth-longest active streak in the NHL.
The Capitals trail the Maple Leafs 2-1 in the best-of-7 series. Nate Schmidt is expected to take Alzner’s place in the Capitals lineup again Wednesday. Schmidt played 16:29 and assisted the Capitals’ first goal, scored by Nicklas Backstrom, in Game 3.
