Washington Capitals star suffers gruesome skate blade injury against the Chicago Blackhawks

The Washington Capitals have had a storyline finish to the end of the regular season, with playoffs upon us. But during last night's game against the Chicago Blackhawks, an incident occurred that caused us all to pause.

Capitals forward Aliaksei Protas had to be helped off the ice by teammates John Carlson and Brandon Duhaime as the forward was cut by a skate blade.

The collision between himself and a Blackhawks player happened late in the game at 15:38 remaining in the third period.

At this moment, we're not sure of the severity of the injury he suffered as a result of the incident.

While he's been confirmed injured, Head Coach Spencer Carberry would update the press on the situation.

Protas would only play 11:39 TOI last night before having to head to the locker room after the injury.

He'd leave the game and wouldn't be on the ice for Alex Ovechkin's 894th career goal scored against the Hawks.

However, he would be seen taking part in the celebration with his team postgame. Protas came into the league as a depth forward, and has since become a key piece in the lineup for the Capitals this season, scoring 66 points (30 goals, 36 asissts) under Head Coach Spencer Carberry.

With Protas out of the lineup, will this put a damper on their postseason plans?

The Blackhawks did their best to put an end to the Gr8 Chase, but Ovechkin would still post two goals: #893 and 894 that night against the team.

The Hawks would lose 5-3 despite their valiant effort, but were unable to shut the door on Ovi's office on the power-play.