Washington Capitals winger Andre Burakovsky will miss at least the next two games of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals after leaving Game 2 with an upper-body injury, Capitals coach Barry Trotz announced Monday.
Burakovsky was injured on a hit by Boone Jenner in the first period of Game 2 Sunday night and did not return to the Caps' bench.
A top six forward for the Capitals, Burakovsky finished the year hot, scoring three goals and three assists in his team's final eight games of the regular season. He tallied 12 goals and 13 assists in 56 games for Washington this season.
Rookie Jakub Vrana, who was a healthy scratch Sunday night, is expected to play in Burakovsky's absence. Whether that means Vrana, who scored 27 points in 73 regular season games, will slide onto the a line with T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom is to be determined.
“For the player, it’s frustrating,” Trotz said. “Our mentality is the next guy up. The next guy up will be Jakub Vrana. For Andre, I feel bad for Andre. … Every time he’s played very, very well, he’s had some injuries. It’s a setback, but he’ll come back strong.”
