The Washington Capitals have re-assigned forward Paul Carey to their American Hockey League affiliate, the team announced Tuesday. Carey was recalled after forward Marcus Johansson was suspended for two games on Friday for an illegal hit to the head of Islanders’ defenseman Thomas Hickey, and that suspension has now been served.
The 27-year-old played in two games as a fourth-line winger with the Capitals. That Washington feels comfortable returning him to the Hershey Bears could be an encouraging sign about other injured players. Michael Latta was a late scratch on Sunday with an upper-body injury that pained him in warmups, and Andre Burakovsky got hurt in the third period after crashing into the end boards awkwardly.