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Nicklas Backstrom reportedly day-to-day with fractured thumb

Nicklas Backstrom, Derek Roy

** STRIPS INCORRECT SCORE FROM SECOND SENTENCE ** Washington Capitals’ Nicklas Backstrom, left, from Sweden, battles for the puck with Buffalo Sabres’ Derek Roy in the first period of an NHL hockey game in Washington Friday, April 3, 2009. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

AP

While it’s still in the “report” stage, the Washington Capitals could be without Nicklas Backstrom on a day-to-day basis according to Japers’ Rink, Puck Daddy and other sources. Translated reports indicate that the slick Swede might have a fractured thumb.

The translated report originally came straight from an interview with Backstrom, while the Capitals confirmed his day-to-day status to the Washington Examiner. Backstrom said that the injury came because of a Kris Letang slash that was never penalized during Monday’s game.

At this point, Backstrom probably isn’t slipping under as many hockey radars as previous years. While he isn’t on a pace to match his 101-point output from last season (53 points in 61 games in 2010-11), he brings a nice mixture of reasonable defensive play and heady playmaking to the table.

The Capitals surely must hope this is indeed a minor injury, as Alexander Semin is just getting healthy again while Mike Green is still missing games after taking a Brooks Oprik slapshot to the ear/side of the head.

Obviously this story is in the early stages, so we’ll let you know if he’s expected to miss a significant amount of time if the team makes any announcements.