Capitals place defenseman Martin Fehervary on IR

Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary left Friday night’s game with a lower-body injury last night and it appears the injury will keep him out for a little while. 

NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti relays that Washington has placed the blueliner on injured reserve. In a corresponding move, blueliner Dylan McIlrath was recalled from AHL Hershey.

Speaking with reporters postgame on Friday (video link), head coach Spencer Carbery didn’t provide any specifics about Fehervary’s injury, only saying that it was not ideal. That’s certainly a fair assessment as the 24-year-old went into last night’s contest averaging over 19 minutes a game while holding down a spot in their top four.

So far this season, Fehervary has a pair of assists in a dozen appearances along with 20 hits and 29 blocked shots. He also takes a regular turn on Washington’s second penalty killing unit so his absence will be hard to fill internally. 

Alexander Alexeyev was the reserve blueliner on Friday so it stands to reason that he’ll get the first chance to do so while Lucas Johansen and Hardy Haman Aktell will each have to cover more minutes as well.

As for McIlrath, the 31-year-old is in his third season in Washington’s system. He got into six games with the Caps last year, his first taste of NHL action since the 2019-20 campaign when he was with Detroit. 

McIlrath is best known for his physicality but he does have three assists in 11 games so far with the Bears this season, along with 23 penalty minutes. Last year in the minors, he had 13 helpers in 60 contests plus 102 minutes in the box.