UPDATED: 10:39 p.m.
WASHINGTON -- Sean Couturier took a hard shot along the boards from Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin a little over halfway through the second period of Thursday night's 2-0 loss to the Washington Capitals in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals (see Instant Replay).
Couturier did not return because of an upper-body injury, Flyers general manager Ron Hextall announced, and will be re-evaluated Friday. An official update is expected Friday.
However, a league source tells CSNPhilly.com's Tim Panaccio that Couturier will miss the remainder of the series with an AC sprain in his left shoulder.
After the collision in the second period, Couturier quickly skated toward the locker room, holding his left arm.
"Coots is a huge piece of our team," Wayne Simmonds said after the game. "He goes down that means someone else has to step up. I thought we did a good job filling in on the short term."
The Flyers were 5-9-4 without Couturier during the regular season, compared to 38-18-3 with him in the lineup. That's a drastic dropoff, but it's a stat the Flyers have to prove wrong if they want to come out of the opening series with Washington on the winning end.
NHL
The Capitals' opening goal came on the power play when Couturier, one of the team’s most reliable players when shorthanded, was in the locker room.
With Couturier out, the most likely replacement would be Scott Laughton. He appeared in 71 games, registering 21 points in his first full season with the club. R.J. Umberger is another option if head coach Dave Hakstol opts for experience and a more physical body as a replacement.