Thursday afternoon the Capitals announced that they have recalled goaltender Pheonix Copley from AHL Hershey.

The emergency move comes as Braden Holtby suffered an undisclosed injury during the team’s game Tuesday against Dallas. The netminder was involved in a collision during the third period of the game, flexing his knee after the hit. Holtby did not participate in Wednesday’s optional practice, citing a need for a “maintenance day.”

During Thursday morning’s practice, video coach Brett Leonhardt suited up as the team’s third goaltender. Leonhardt, who was a goaltender in college, has suited up several times in the past in emergency situations.

Interesting … seems a third goaltender is on the ice. Brett Leonhardt. Anyway, seems something might still be nagging Holtby. Grubauer expected to start tonight anyway.

— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) March 22, 2018

The call-up of Copley is likely short term while Holtby gets back to 100%. According to the Washington Post’s Isabelle Khurshudyan, head coach Barry Trotz said that Holtby “tweaked something.”

Is Braden Holtby hurt?

Trotz: “Yeah, he just tweaked something. We’re just trying to make sure he’s OK. He’s doing fine. You saw, he was moving around fine and took the majority of the shots. Didn’t want Stretch in the net.”

— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) March 22, 2018

Philipp Grubauer is slated to start Thursday night against Detroit.

With the Bears this season, Copley has a 2.25 GAA, a save percentage of .924, and 2 shutouts in 41 games. It is the first time this season that the team has had to recall a goaltender.

More from the Caps:

The Washington Capitals have recalled goaltender Pheonix Copley from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.

Copley, 26, posted a 14-16-6 record with two shutouts, a 2.86 goals-against average and a .898 save percentage in 38 games with Hershey this season.

Copley posted a 26-11-3 record with one shutout, a 2.25 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage in 41 AHL games with the Chicago Wolves and Hershey Bears in 2016-17. The North Pole, Alaska, native ranked seventh in the AHL in goals-against average, tied for seventh in wins and tied for eighth in save percentage. In 142 career AHL games with Hershey and Chicago, Copley posted a 72-47-15 record with nine shutouts, a 2.53 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. The 6’4″, 196-pound goaltender appeared in two career NHL games with the St. Louis Blues. Copley made his NHL debut on Feb. 27, 2016, at Nashville and made 24 saves in his first career NHL start on Jan. 21, 2017 at Winnipeg.

The Capitals acquired Copley from the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 27, 2017, along with defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk for Zach Sanford, Brad Malone and a first-round pick in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. Washington re-signed Copley to a two-year contract on June 28, 2017.