The Washington Capitals went from being nearly completely healthy to needing to make two call-ups after one boneheaded play against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Jonas Siegenthaler and Richard Panik both suffered upper-body injuries on Wednesday after the two players crashed into each other off a faceoff. Both players left the game during the third period and went down the tunnel immediately. The Capitals announced Friday that Panik has been placed on long-term injured reserve while Siegenthaler will be a game-time decision.
In response to those injuries, the Capitals recalled Hershey Bears skaters Martin Fehervary and Travis Boyd to Washington. It’s unclear if one or both will play against the New York Rangers tonight.
NEWS | Capitals Recall Travis Boyd and Martin Fehervary from Hershey#ALLCAPS https://t.co/KLwFfW8HZx
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 18, 2019
#Caps place forward Richard Panik (upper body) on LTI. Defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler will skate this morning and will be a game-time decision vs. NYR.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) October 18, 2019
The biggest news coming from the transactions this morning is Panik’s injury. The forward, who signed to a four-year, $11 million deal over the summer to replace Brett Connolly on the third line, will miss a minimum of 10 NHL games (or the next 24 days of the NHL season) after being placed on long-term injured reserve, per Cap Friendly. With Panik on LTIR, the Caps can replace him on the active roster with another player and exceed the salary cap.
Fehervary being the first defenseman to be called up is not a surprise. The Slovak blueliner was impressive during his three-game NHL stint to start the season and played well when paired together with Radko Gudas. Fehervary recently scored his first AHL goal with the Bears – a shorthanded marker against the Baby Penguins.
Meanwhile, Boyd, was recently named AHL Player of the Week after scoring four goals and leading the entire league in points after his first two games. Boyd played the entire season in Washington last season.
Michal Kempny, who is still rehabbing his torn left hamstring suffered last season, is also nearing a return as well.
More from the Capitals:
The Washington Capitals have recalled forward Travis Boyd and defenseman Martin Fehervary from the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan announced today.
Boyd, 26, has recorded 21 points (5g, 16a) in 61 career games with the Capitals. This season, the 6’0″, 190-pound forward has recorded six points (4g, 2a) in three games with Hershey. Boyd was named the CCM/AHL Player of the Week for the period ending Oct. 13.
Last season with Washington, the Hopkins, Minn., native’s 1.01 primary assists per 60 minutes of five-on-five play ranked second on the Capitals, behind only Evgeny Kuznetsov (1.15).
Fehervary, 20, appeared in three games with the Capitals this year. The 6’2″, 200-pound rookie defenseman averaged 14:29 TOI per game and recorded a 54.72 shot attempt percentage (29 shot attempts for, 24 against) at five-on-five.
Fehervary, who was selected with the Capitals’ second round pick, 46th overall, in the 2018 NHL Draft, made his NHL debut on Oct. 2 against the St. Louis Blues and became the first player selected outside of the first round to make his NHL debut before the age of 20 since Samuel Girard (Nashville, selected in the second round, 47th overall, in the 2016 NHL Draft) on Oct. 10, 2017. The Bratislava, Slovakia, native is one of 11 defensemen in franchise history to make his NHL debut before the age of 20.
In three games with Hershey this season, Fehervary scored one goal.
