Washington Capitals defenseman Tom Poti took a puck to the eye on Monday and will miss Game 7 against the Montreal Canadiens, according to the Washington Post. Young defenseman Karl Alzner could replace him on the blue line and could possibly be paired up with rookie sensation John Carlson. The two played together often this season with AHL Hershey.
Capitals’ Tom Poti Suffers Eye Injury, Will Miss Game 7, Possibly Beyond
Other replacements available are NHL reserves Tyler Sloan and John Erskine.
Stephen Pepper of SBN’s Caps blog, Japers’ Rink, thinks Alzner’s insertion is crucial in making up for Poti’s absence:
So it's another game, another gruesome injury for the Washington Capitals. This time, it's Tom Poti, the rearguard who has been on ice for just a single goal against at even-strength in this first round series vs. Montreal, logged the most PK minutes of all Caps skaters for a unit that has killed minors at a 81.5% clip (eighth-best amongst the 16 first round teams), and served as an unlikely catalyst with the fists as well.
How does a team now facing elimination replace this stalwart on defense, his over twenty-one minutes of TOI/G which has helped limit a surprisingly dynamic Canadiens team to 28 shots or less in three of the six contests to date? Again give a sweater to swift skating, and fellow lefty, Tyler Sloan? Tap the rugged John Erskine for duty for the first time in this series? No. It's time, instead, for the Stanley Cup playoff debut of the "other" pride of Burnaby, BC: Karl Alzner.
Just as Habs' recall of AHL standout defenseman P.K. Subban brought "instant energy" to a team facing the end of its season at home, so can Alzner bring some jump to a team heavily battered already by the war of attrition that is the Cup playoffs.
Head coach Bruce Boudreau stated that Poti’s injury is pretty significant and that he may be out for up to three weeks or longer. With four assists and a plus-nine rating, the veteran was playing admirable hockey as part of the top defensive pairing with Carlson.
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