The Presidents' Trophy-winning Washington Capitals will be without Nicklas Backstrom for Friday's game against the Colorado Avalanche for precautionary reasons, head coach Barry Trotz confirmed.
The forward is dealing with an upper-body injury, and his status is uncertain for Saturday's game against the Arizona Coyotes.
The 28-year-old ranks second on the Capitals in both assists (47) and points (67) behind leading-scorer Evgeny Kuznetsov.