

Brooks Orpik of the Capitals lays on the ice after an injury against the Islanders. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

UNIONDALE, N.Y. – The sinking sight of watching defenseman Brooks Orpik writhe on the ice and clutch his right knee Monday night, eventually unable to leave the rink under his own power, seemed worse than the initial diagnosis, according to Capitals Coach Barry Trotz.

“I would say it’s not as bad as it looked,” Trotz said, “so that’s a good thing.”

Orpik’s injury, suffered during the third period of an eventual 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders, looked devastating at first glance. As the veteran teed up a hit on forward Cal Clutterbuck, his right skate caught and his knee twisted. Orpik barreled into Clutterbuck, crashed into the boards and fell onto that same leg. He shook his gloves off and yelled. He needed defenseman John Carlson and forward Jason Chimera to help him into the tunnel.

“Brooksie’s a tough guy,” forward Brooks Laich said. “If he’s down, he’s hurting. You feel for him. Just saw him now, I hope he’s okay. Really big part of the team. Really big part of our team. He’s our leader on the back end, big physical guy. I hope for our team and for his sake that he’s okay. I guess we’ll find out here soon.”

The uncertainty cast an even darker shadow over the roller-coaster defeat, which ended four seconds before forward Evgeny Kuznetsov could leave the penalty box after committing a double-minor high sticking. The Capitals had plenty to dissect anyway, like seven man-advantage chances handed to the Islanders, the first shorthanded goal a Trotz-coached team allowed since March 2013, a power play neutered for over six minutes and a sluggish start that created a three-goal deficit.

But Laich said he spoke with Orpik later and noted the defenseman “wasn’t in there panicking.”

“When you see a guy like that down, you fear the worst,” Laich said. “I think that’s not the scenario in this one.”

Officially, the Capitals only announced that Orpik would receive further medical evaluation and would not return to the game, but players and coaches alike expressed optimism that the injury was not as series as it initially appeared in real time. Orpik has sported a brace on that same knee this season, which could have limited damage.

“Everyone knows he’s tough enough that he’ll be back as fast as he possibly can,” goaltender Braden Holtby said.

Misfortune had already found Orpik earlier in the game, when a puck deflected off his body and past Holtby on a penalty kill, the second goal the Islanders scored in building a 3-0 lead. Regardless of the severity, chances are Orpik will miss Thursday’s Winter Classic at Nationals Park less than 72 hours away.

Before Monday night, the Capitals had enjoyed total health on their top two defensive pairings, with Carlson, Orpik, Matt Niskanen and Karl Alzner all starting 36 straight games to open the season, anchoring a blue line revamped this offseason by the two lucrative signings of Orpik and Niskanen.

The first injury means Trotz likely will need to rejigger the groups for the New Year’s Day matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Up in the press box, as the television broadcast replayed Orpik’s injury, Nate Schmidt had a similar reaction to his teammates and winced. Scratched for the fourth time in five games, he will be summoned back into the lineup, assuming Orpik misses time. And given the Capitals’ postgame rhetoric, even if cautious optimism prevailed amid speculation, that much at least seems to be the case.

“I don’t know what happened to him,” forward Eric Fehr said, “but it didn’t look good.”