Capitals update the status of Tom Wilson for Game 3.

The Washington Capitals have confirmed the bad news.

On Saturday, Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette informed members of the media that Capitals enforcer Tom Wilson would once again be on the sidelines in Game 3 of their opening round series against the Florida Panthers in this year's Stanley Cup playoffs. Wilson was injured in Game 1 of the series, a game that he would leave early as a result of that injury, and would go on to subsequently miss Game 2 of the series as a result of that injury as well.

The Capitals have attempted to give a relatively rosey outlook on Wilson's status moving forward, but his absence from a second straight playoff game will no doubt begin to set off alarm bells in the minds of concerned fans in Washington. The Capitals are currently listing Wilson as out due to a "lower body injury" however there have since been reports that would appear to indicate that it is Wilson's knee that has specifically been injured.

As for what this will mean for Washington's lineup for Game 3? We still don't know the answer to that question given that Laviolette himself did not appear to have a concrete answer. Laviolette informed reporters on Saturday that the team was still working through some things, a sign that there may be some game time decisions coming this evening.

Although this news in and of itself can not be considered catastrophic, when combined with some of the rumors that have begun to bubble up to the surface it may be a very serious cause for concern for the Capitals. This week Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan made comments that suggest sources have informed him that Wilson will be out for an extended period of time and possibly for what remains of the Capitals' Stanley Cup playoff run. The fact that Wilson remains out for yet another game would appear to lend at least some credence to the comments by Paulsen.

The Caps have also recalled goaltender Hunter Shepard from the American Hockey League and have indicated that Ilya Samsonov will start tonight.