Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Caps’ first test: Mike Green possibly a no-go against Edmonton

Mike Green

Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green (52) is cheered on by fans after his game-winning goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the overtime period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011, in Washington. The Capitals won 4-3 in overtime. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

AP

The Washington Capitals have made their undefeated start to the season look pretty easy.

A little too easy.

As they head off to western Canada for a road trip, they’ll finally have to face up to some hardship as it appears that Mike Green isn’t going to be able to play against the Oilers tonight. After twisting up his right ankle in their 7-1 win over Detroit, Green hasn’t been able to practice or do much of anything with the injury.

It wasn’t going to be a worry-free season for the Capitals (or any team in the league) as it was, and having Green come up gimpy here is a bit of a shot for the Caps. Green broke out in a big way against Detroit with four points so his offense was on the way back from a quiet start.

Now it’ll be up to Dennis Wideman to pick up his slack there while Roman Hamrlik will have to play with a new partner. With the Oilers having speed to burn and enough skill to cause problems, Tomas Vokoun might just have a bit more work to do to keep the Caps undefeated.