As you may already know, Washington Capitals defenseman Dennis Wideman will be out an indefinite amount of time with a leg injury. As it turns out, the previously mentioned week-to-week window might not even be sufficient (though it could be), as CSN Washington reports that Wideman has been hospitalized with hematoma in his leg.
For those of you looking for an explanation on what exactly hematoma is, CSN Washington describes it this way: “A hemotoma can refer to just a bruise, but in some cases, it can cause serious swelling. TSN reports Wideman’s swelling is significant enough to require surgery to drain blood from the injury.”
(Read more about that gross-sounding injury in Bob McKenzie’s TSN report.)
It sounds like Wideman’s surgery could be pretty serious, with his target return date being anyone’s guess. The team already was dealing with injuries to its most potent offensive defensemen, so this makes things that much tougher. Mike Green is shaking off what seems like a bad concussion and even Tom Poti is out, so the team must continue to transition to a defense-first approach.
For whatever amount of time those three blueliners are missing, the offensive focus shifts to guys such as stellar rookie John Carlson. As talented as Carlson might be, it’s likely that the team won’t be able to attack in the same way with Wideman on the shelf.
On the bright side, it seems like Wideman is at least exhibiting a somewhat sick sense of humor about the situation. Mike Knuble told Katie Carrera that Wideman is sending some “gruesome” pictures of the injury to his Washington teammates.
We’ll keep you updated as more information surfaces regarding the condition of Wideman, Green, Poti and any other Capitals who might get banged up. If Washington can manage to avoid gruesome scoreboard results without their blueline offensive catalysts, it would say a lot about a team that has shown plenty of resilience already.