earned him continued opportunities with Washington

www.tblightningjersey.com/nikita-nesterov-jersey-c-27.html After receiving the news that they’d both been recalled by the Capitals, forwards Paul Carey and Jakub Vrana excitedly started the drive from Hershey to Washington. But halfway there Valtteri Filppula Jersey , Carey had to pull over and ask Vrana to take the wheel. He was too sick to drive.

“I got a little 24 hour bug,” Carey said. “It kind of cleaned out my whole system. I feel a lot better now.”

Though the illness was brief, the timing was poor, as Coach Barry Trotz said he would’ve played Carey against the New York Islanders on Thursday night had he not gotten sick. But Carey was back at practice on Friday, and he’s expected to be in the lineup on Saturday night in Tampa Bay, likely on a line with center Lars Eller and Justin Williams.

[In his NHL debut, Vrana ‘had a great feeling out there’]

“He’s been very detailed,” Trotz said of Carey. “He’s been fairly productive. He’s scored, and he’s made some really good plays. Tracking down pucks www.tblightningjersey.com/andrej-sustr-jersey-c-29.html , I like his speed. I think he’s a mature guy who’s been very consistent for Hershey. … We want to find out about him. Sometimes, you say, ‘Well, he’s been in the minors for a few years. He hasn’t played for a time up here.’ Guys getting to the NHL have different paths, and they have different time frames.”

“We need to find out what he can do, so that we’re not missing anything with him as a player,” Trotz added.

Carey, 28, made his 2016 17 season debut with the Capitals on Nov. 20 against Columbus, and with T.J. Oshie out because of an upper body injury, Carey was the team’s extra forward in Toronto last Saturday night before being reassigned to Hershey again. With the Capitals on a two game losing streak, he’s now expected to supplant Daniel Winnik in the lineup, something Trotz warned of on Thursday morning.

“We have a lot of good young players in Hershey, who are, I think, on the cusp of putting some back pressure on some of the guys that we have here,” Trotz said. “… Anybody that we call up, I consider a Washington Capital, and they have just as much right to be in our lineup as any of our guys that are here on a more permanent basis.”

Carey appeared in four games with Washington last season and scored one goal. Not long after his brief stint with the Capitals, Carey suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery www.tblightningjersey.com/anton-stralman-jersey-c-28.html , forcing him to be out for the remainder of the Bears season. But he’s been one of Hershey’s most consistent forwards with 14 points five goals and nine assists in 16 games this season. That’s earned him continued opportunities with Washington.

“It’s definitely positive,” Carey said. “At this point of the season, I haven’t even thought about my shoulder. It just seems to be 100 percent, and it’s definitely good to be back with both teams and playing.”


Isabelle Khurshudyan covers the Washington Capitals. You can email her at Isabelle.Khurshudyan washpost.com. Follow ikhurshudyan