Capitals Lose Matt Roy to Lower-Body Injury in Frustrating Loss to Lightning

Washington Capitals defenseman Matt Roy left Saturday night's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning with a lower-body injury, because the hockey gods simply refuse to let a blue line stay healthy for more than five minutes.

According to Daily Faceoff, Roy exited the contest and did not return. When a reliable defensive anchor heads down the tunnel and stays there, it is usually time to start nervously checking the AHL call-up options.

The injury compounded an already frustrating night for Washington. After cruising past the Carolina Hurricanes 5-2 just a day earlier, the Capitals ran out of gas in Tampa, dropping a 3-1 decision to the Lightning.

Losing a game early in the season is whatever. Losing a guy who eats heavy minutes on the back end is the kind of thing that ruins a coach's weekend. You can scheme around a cold power play, but you cannot scheme around missing a top-four defenseman without asking someone else to play 28 minutes and eventually collapse from exhaustion.

For anyone holding Capitals futures or looking at their upcoming game lines, Roy's status is the only thing that matters right now. A prolonged absence shifts the entire defensive structure and puts a lot more pressure on Washington's goaltending to bail out mismatched pairings.

We will have to wait for the official medical update to see if this is a day-to-day tweak or a long-term problem. Meanwhile, the Lightning get to enjoy the 3-1 win and rest up before hosting the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.