Spencer Carbery provides update on Martin Fehervary after injured defender misses practice

The Washington Capitals were met with a flurry of injuries as players hit the ice on Monday in an effort to make their returns to game action. However, one notable absence was defenseman Martin Fehervary.

Fehervary sustained an injury in Friday’s win over the New Jersey Devils and was unable to play in Saturday’s game against the New York Islanders. Consequently, the Capitals placed Fehervary on injured reserve due to a lower-body injury and called up veteran blueliner Dylan McIlrath to fill his roster spot.

Following Monday’s skate, head coach Spencer Carbery was inquired about an update on the young defender. Fehervary had been part of the team’s top pair alongside John Carlson.

“For sure he’s out tomorrow and we’ll see for the Columbus game on Saturday,” Carbery stated. “We’ve got a unique schedule again as we go through this. I think there are two games in eight or nine days. So, we’ll see for that one. That would probably be questionable but we’ll find out more in the coming days.”

Fehervary’s last shift against the Devils lasted just over a minute (1:04) before he was forced to exit the game. The 24-year-old rearguard seemed to sustain a right foot injury while defending a net front chance from Dawson Mercer.

#ALLCAPS Okay i dont know if there’s already the video of what happened to ferhervary that i just missed, but i looked to see what happened and this was what i found pic.twitter.com/zHhDpmosBQ

— Capitals Replays (@capsreplays) November 11, 2023

“It’s not ideal, so we’ll reevaluate,” Carbery stated postgame. “We’ve got some issues on the backend.”

Fehervary being placed on IR means he’s not eligible to return until a week from when he suffered the injury. The first possible game he’d be eligible for is the November 18 matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

As things stand, the Capitals are without three defenders that were expected to be in the team’s top six group to start the year. Unlike Fehervary, Trevor van Riemsdyk and Joel Edmundson did practice on Monday albeit in non-contact jerseys.

The Capitals’ current active roster includes seven names on the backend. Younger players like Alex Alexeyev, Lucas Johansen, and Hardy Haman Aktell have taken on more significant roles in the absence of the injured players.

Star defender John Carlson has also been logging a lot of minutes as the Capitals attempt to get some of their more experienced names back on the ice.

Headline photo: Katie Adler/RMNB