Capitals forward Lars Eller has left the NHL bubble in Toronto to be with his family for the birth of his second child, the team announced Wednesday. Eller had made it known he intended to do so before even arriving in Toronto so the news of his departure is no surprise.
#Caps center Lars Eller has returned to Washington this afternoon for the birth of his second child. Upon returning to Toronto, Eller will follow the NHL's quarantine and testing protocol before rejoining the team.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) August 5, 2020
Eller is actually not the first player to voluntarily leave the bubble for the birth of a child. That honor goes to Ivan Barbashev of the St. Louis Blues who departed on Tuesday.
Eller's departure means he will miss Thursday's game, Travis Boyd is expected to step into Eller's position at third line center. Boyd has largely been an extra for much of the season in Washington and played in only 24 games, but still managed 10 points. Boyd also has experience playing the third-line center role in the playoffs as he did it in 2018 during the team's Cup run. An injury to Nicklas Backstrom pushed Eller into the second line, which allowed Boyd to get into the lineup.
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE CAPITALS TALK PODCAST
Eller's return will be complicated. It is not just a matter of rejoining the team, but also being able to re-enter the NHL's bubble which will mean a period of quarantine and testing. That means that even upon returning to Toronto, he will not be available to join the team right away. Eller will almost certainly miss the team's final round robin game as well against the Boston Bruins on Sunday.
Stay connected to the Capitals with the MyTeams app. Click here to download for comprehensive coverage of your teams.
MORE CAPITALS NEWS:
- Vanececk: How much upside?
- Playoff Run? Caps have to get physical
- Spotted: Carlson on phone during game
Lars Eller departs the bubble for birth of his second child originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
