Matt Roy out again as Capitals face Rangers

The first sign came early. Roy was nowhere near the ice when Washington skated Friday morning, and the beat reporters noticed right away.

Tarik El-Bashir

@Tarik_ElBashir

Matt Roy (lower body/day-to-day) is not on the ice this morning, which does not bode well for his availability tonight vs. #NYR. He missed Wednesday’s game, as well. #ALLCAPS

Officially he's still day-to-day, but a guy who can't get through a morning skate isn't playing that night. This all started back on October 3 in Tampa. Roy logged 14:22 through 2 periods against the Lightning, then never came back to the bench after the 2nd intermission. Nobody could point to an obvious hit or a moment where he got hurt. Spencer Carbery kept it short afterward: lower-body, and he'd get evaluated once the team was back in DC.

Then he sat out Wednesday. By midday Friday it was basically settled.

Sammi Silber 🏒

@sammisilber

No Matt Roy again for the Caps ahead of tonight’s matchup against the Rangers

For the Caps this isn't some depth guy missing a night. Roy was just named an alternate captain, and he led the team in ice time in the season opener at 22:28, mostly paired with Jakob Chychrun. He put up 19 points in 79 games last season, but his value is the minutes he soaks up in his own end. The blue line was already short Rasmus Sandin (knee), so losing Roy makes it even thinner.

The Caps did get one thing settled in net.

Sammi Silber 🏒

@sammisilber

Logan Thompson will start for the Caps vs the Rangers

Thompson is going to be busy. New York walks in hot after Alexis Lafreniere's hat trick in a 5-2 win over the Islanders, and a Rangers forward group that's rolling is exactly what you don't want to see with your top minutes-eater in a suit. What to watch: how Carbery splits Roy's minutes tonight, and whether "day-to-day" is still the label next week. Carbery has already hinted this could take longer than the tag suggests.