Capitals forward expected to play vs. Blue Jackets after rupturing ear drum

NHL.com writer Tom Gulitti reported on Wednesday that Washington Capitals forward Anthony Mantha suffered a ruptured ear drum when an Evgeny Kuznetsov shot bounced off a defender’s stick and hit Mantha in the ear. 

The injury happened Nov. 8 in a game against the Florida Panthers and led to the 29-year-old being placed on the injured reserve.

Mantha reportedly lost hearing in that ear for six days and has only now started to get it back. He reported feeling dizziness initially, but according to Tarik El-Bashir, he should be well enough to play on Saturday when he is eligible to come off the IR.

Mantha was three goals and an assist in ten games this season with the Capitals and has been a healthy scratch at times as he hasn’t been able to find his game in Washington. He had two of his goals in the Panthers game when he suffered the injury but was knocked out of the game before he could complete the hat trick.