Michal Kempny injury significantly affects Capitals chance at a repeat

The Washington Capitals will be without Michal Kempny indefinitely due to a lower body injury, and their chances at repeating as Stanley Cup Champions will suffer because of it.

The defending Stanley Cup champions Washington Capitals have stormed back into taking the lead in the Metropolitan division, and are looking to win the division for a fourth consecutive season. However, their quest at another division title and back to back Stanley Cups just got much harder.

Michal Kempny is ruled to be out ‘indefinitely’ after he was injured in the second period of the Capitals 5-4 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night. Kempny got his leg caught underneath him during a scuffle with Tampa’s Cedric Paquette, and needed assistance getting to the locker room without being able to put pressure on his left leg.

After a couple days of speculation, some of the worst fears are being confirmed. Capitals head coach Todd Reirden said Friday after practice that Kempny would undergo more testing to better determine how long he would be out of the lineup.

“I’d say we’re going to have to be without him for an indefinite amount of time right now,” Reirden said.

When asked if Kempny could be out for the rest of the regular season, Reirden said, “I don’t feel comfortable saying that until I get a little bit more medical advice on that one and we go through all the proper testing we need to know so we can set that proper timetable. But right now, I just plan on not having him for an indefinite amount of time.”

Without Kempny, the Capitals are now missing out on a significant piece of their Stanley Cup run from last season. After acquiring him at the trade deadline from the Chicago Blackhawks, Kempny turned out to be the exact piece that the Capitals needed to clean up their defensive play en route to their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history. In 71 games so far this season, Kempny has recorded six goals and 25 assists on the Capitals top defensive pair beside John Carlson.

If Kempny is unavailable for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Capitals chances at repeating as Stanley Cup Champions will take a serious hit, as he was one of the two defensemen that the Capitals absolutely could not afford to lose on the back end.

The Capitals defense has mostly not performed up to expectations so far this season, especially their second pair of Matt Niskanen and Dmitry Orlov whom have both seemed to take a significant step back this season. Even John Carlson has his off nights sometimes, and Kempny has been one of their most consistent defensemen on a nightly basis. He’s been the glue that’s kept the defensive core from collapsing.

Taking Kempny’s place on the top pairing next to John Carlson at the moment will be 24 year old Christian Djoos, whose been a healthy scratch for a significant majority of the last several games since the Capitals acquisition of Nick Jensen at the NHL Trade Deadline. Djoos also missed a significant portion of the season after suffering a sudden compartment syndrome in his left thigh that required emergency surgery. In 37 games this season, Djoos has recored one goal and seven assists, as well as showing tremendous strides in his defensive development.

If there is a bright spot to be taken away from the injury to Kempny, is that this is finally Djoos’s opportunity to prove that belongs in the lineup now and in the future. At 24 years old and on an expiring RFA contract, now is his time to prove his worth and complete his journey to the NHL after being a seventh round pick in 2012.

Regardless, without Kempny  to hold the fort, the left side on the top pairing is now a rotating door that will just have to be a ‘by community’ situation if Djoos can’t make a seamless transition from healthy scratch to top pair defenseman. But more importantly, Niskanen and Orlov need to figure it out, because even with Kempny those two have become a serious concern.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs will begin on April 10, and the Capitals have eight games remaining to figure it out without Kempny, because if he does end up to be out long term and they can’t find a way to replace him, this dream of back to back championships may be short lived. That defense in all likelihood cannot survive without him.