The Washington Capitals will be without an integral part of their lineup when they take on the Tampa Bay Lightning at Capital One Arena.

Pierre-Luc Dubois, one of the team’s top-six centers, won’t be dressing in the matchup after suffering a lower-body injury against the New York Rangers on Sunday. Dubois, 27, left the ice at Madison Square Garden with 6:44 remaining in the third period, and head coach Spencer Carbery ruled the big centerman out for Tuesday night’s game after he did not participate in the club’s morning skate.

“He won’t play tonight, and I would call him day to day,” Carbery said.

Asked about the nature of Dubois’ ailment, Carbery waffled before cautiously declaring it a lower-body injury.

“Uh, lower, let’s go with,” he said. “I would say lower body.”

The injury to Dubois means Hendrix Lapierre will draw straight back into the Capitals’ lineup after sitting out healthy against the Rangers. Connor McMichael will remain down the middle, moving up to the second line.

“Yeah, hopefully it’s not too serious,” Wilson said of his frequent linemate on Tuesday. “Dubie’s a horse for us. He plays both sides of the puck, plays a lot of minutes, power play, PK, everything. So he’s a guy that’s tough to replace, but we got pretty good depth on our roster, and be the next guy up and take on a little bit more responsibility and get the job done.

“There’s so many good players that there’s a lot of chemistry with different guys, which is definitely a good thing to have in your toolbox. So, you know, when a guy does get hurt, you’re comfortable playing with some of the other guys that might fill into that spot. So hopefully it makes the transition a little easier.”

Carbery regularly deploys Dubois against the opposition’s top offensive forwards, a duty he says will have to be more of a shared responsibility against Lightning players like Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, and Jake Guentzel.

“We handle them very carefully,” Carbery said. “We’ll look at probably by committee, but I’m sure they’ll get a heavy dose of Pro and Mikey. We’re going to have to do a job. We all know the strengths of Tampa’s lineup, especially with those five forwards. So that’s where it starts.

“You have to be able to limit what they’re able to do because they have the ability to absolutely take over a game, and you don’t have a shot. If they have one of their nights that they have frequently with any of those two lines, it’s hard to get a result against them.”

Dubois, who didn’t miss a single game for the Capitals last year, is averaging 17:22 of ice time this season, playing at all three strengths. With him not available for power-play practice reps, Sonny Milano was moved up onto the team’s first unit. Milano played in his first game of the season against the Rangers, receiving 10:07 of ice time in the 1-0 victory.

With Dubois out, the Capitals are currently carrying no extra forwards. Carbery did not mention any plans to recall anyone from the AHL’s Hershey Bears.

Puck drop against the Lightning is set for 7 pm. The Capitals will then have two days of practice before hosting the Minnesota Wild on Friday night.