Washington Capitals center Nic Dowd left his club's 6-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night with an upper-body injury.

Dowd never returned for the second period after skating seven shifts for 6:20 in the first. The Capitals quickly ruled him out from returning.

It was not immediately clear how serious Dowd's injury was or if the 33-year-old would miss any time. Asked for an update after the win, coach Spencer Carbery said only that Dowd would be reevaluated Wednesday. The Capitals leave for a two-game road trip after practice.

A faceoff specialist and penalty killer with some offensive ability who is signed through next season at the bargain basement salary cap hit of $1.3 million, Dowd is considered one of the most attractive players available ahead of the March 8 NHL trade deadline.

This season, Dowd has 16 points on eight goals and eight assists. He is a veteran of 507 regular-season and playoff games.

"Dowder's a huge defensive piece on this team, and they're hard shoes to fill," said Connor McMichael, who scored twice and assumed some of Dowd's ice time against the Devils. "But I thought our group did a collective job to step in for him, and we're happy to get the win."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.