📸: Alan Dobbins/RMNB
The Washington Capitals suffered another injury to their forward corps, losing Ethen Frank against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.
Frank went to the locker room in the final minutes of the third period after appearing to lay a body check on Stars winger Mikko Rantanen. When the two collided near the boards, Rantanen — who is listed as five inches taller and 40 pounds heavier than Frank — barely seemed to move, leaving Frank to absorb the full impact.
The hit sent Frank flying backwards before he landed hard on his right arm and side. He clutched his head in the immediate aftermath of the fall, though it did not appear to hit the ice.
Frank was slow to get back up on his feet and showed visible pain while receiving attention from Capitals head athletic trainer Jason Serbus, requiring help to get off the ice while holding his left arm at a 90-degree angle. Head coach Spencer Carbery said postgame that he had not yet gotten an update on Frank’s status.
Several of Washington’s forwards had already sustained injuries this season even before Frank got hurt. Frank was only on Tuesday’s roster to begin with because of a lower-body injury Dylan Strome sustained against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, and the team previously went without Pierre-Luc Dubois for five games earlier in the month. Defenseman Rasmus Sandin also remains on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
Frank has played in three of the Capitals’ ten games this season, scoring one assist and averaging 11:18 per night.
The Capitals will have two days off before their next game against the New York Islanders on Friday. If both Frank and Strome (who has been labeled out day-to-day) are unable to play, the team will either see extra forward Sonny Milano draw back into the lineup or will have to make another move.