The Washington Capitals took to the ice at MedStar Capitals Iceplex for their last practice ahead of the NHL\u2019s Opening Night roster deadline without Matt Roy and Dylan McIlrath.<\/p>\n
The two veteran defensemen suffered injuries \u2014 Roy an upper-body injury and McIlrath a lower-body injury \u2014 against the Columbus Blue Jackets during the Capitals\u2019 preseason finale on Saturday night. Neither player was able to finish the game, leaving the Caps with just four defenders for the final 10 minutes and 36 seconds of the third period.<\/p>\n
Neither Matt Roy (upper-body) nor Dylan McIlrath (lower-body) are practicing this morning. Both sustained injuries against the Blue Jackets on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Katie Adler (@katieEadler) October 6, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Head coach Spencer commented postgame<\/a> that the Capitals would evaluate the two blueliners on Sunday, which was a day off for the team after wrapping up their preseason schedule.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn\u2019t look like it\u2019s super significant or a long-term thing,\u201d Carbery said. \u201cMaybe a week, two weeks. I don\u2019t want to throw anything out there.\u201d<\/p>\n For Matt Roy, the early-season injury will likely lead to a bout of deja vu, as the 30-year-old rearguard was injured in last year\u2019s first game of the 2024-25 regular season. He played just 8:39 of that October 12 game against the New Jersey Devils and didn\u2019t return to the club\u2019s lineup until November 6.<\/p>\n Roy eventually played in 69 total games for the Capitals in his first season with the team, skating on average 19:53 of ice time per game and recording 24 points (3g, 21a). The 2025-26 campaign will be the second year of the six-year, $34.5 million ($5.75M AAV) contract he signed with the Caps as an unrestricted free agent during the 2024 offseason.<\/p>\n McIlrath, 33, spent most of last year as the team\u2019s seventh defenseman, getting into 17 games, which was the most NHL games he has played in a single season since he got a sweater 34 times with the New York Rangers during the 2015-16 campaign.<\/p>\n The two injuries mean that the Capitals are left with 23 healthy players at training camp, which could encompass the final roster that the Capitals announce later on Monday. Vincent Iorio, who makes the team likely due to one or both of Roy and McIlrath probably going on injured reserve<\/a>, skated on the team\u2019s extra defense pairing with winger Ivan Miroshnichenko at practice.<\/p>\n Unlike Roy and McIlrath, goaltender Charlie Lindgren skated after missing Saturday\u2019s game for maintenance.<\/p>\n The Capitals must submit their Opening Night roster by 5 pm, and they\u2019ll also find out the fates of the waived Clay Stevenson and Ethen Frank<\/a> three hours before then.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t