WASHINGTON -- Evan Rodigues was injured after he was hit by a shot midway through the first period in the Penguins' 5-4 overtime win over the Capitals.
Rodrigues was hit somewhere in the lower leg by a Mike Matheson shot on the power play and needed assistance leaving the ice, not putting any weight on his left leg. He appeared to get hit above his left ankle, either on the back or the side of his boot:
Rodrigues returned to the Penguins' bench several minutes later, and took a few practice laps during a media timeout, speaking with trainer Chris Stewart on the bench after. He tried to take his first shifts a few more minutes later, but only made it a few feet off the bench before he immediately turned around, gestured to the bench and went right down the tunnel under his own power.
Mike Sullivan didn't have an immediate update on Rodrigues after the game, saying that he was still being evaluated for a lower-body injury.
"You never want to see a guy go down like that," Jake Guentzel said of Rodrigues. "It's just kind of 'next man up,' and we know we have to step up for him and the team. I thought for our forward group we did a pretty good job without him there. We're going to miss him if something happens. But you just have to stick with it and we just did a good job of that tonight."
"He's been a big part of our success," said Kasperi Kapanen of Rodrigues. "A lot of guys have been hurt this year, so he's really upped his game. He's a big part of the team. We'll see what his condition is tomorrow."
The Penguins are scheduled to practice at Capital One Arena at noon on Friday. The practice is closed to the media due to local building regulations, so we'll have to wait for Sullivan to speak after practice to get an update on Rodrigues' status.
