Washington Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery was asked for updates on Charlie Lindgren and Martin Fehervary, who both suffered injuries early in the team’s 5-1 loss to the New York Islanders, Friday.
Carbery’s response seemed to indicate that both players would miss — at the very least — Saturday’s matchup against the Nashville Predators.
“Both will be out for the foreseeable future,” Carbery said.
Lindgren took a shot up high around the neck area that eventually forced him out of the game. Fehervary was tripped by Anders Lee and crashed hard into the end boards.
#ALLCAPS Fehervary was tripped. Also this shows the shot that hurt Lindgren pic.twitter.com/7lrnABNDb7
— Capitals Replays (@capsreplays) December 30, 2023
“It definitely put us in a hole right away,” Carbery said. “Goaltender is always a unique one. You sorta feel like you can get out of that. Losing D early is tough because now you go down to five (defensemen) so early, second shift of the game. And then you get guys who are taxed real early in that game, which puts us in a tough spot. Not in something that you can’t find your way out of – just a little bit of adversity.”
Lindgren’s absence will be keenly felt by his Capitals teammates. Starting the campaign as the the presumed backup goaltender, Lindgren proved solid in net and earned an elevated role. He holds a record of 7-3-3 in 13 starts this season, giving up an average of just 2.27 goals a game for a .928 save percentage. Per Moneypuck.com, his 11.9 goals saved above expected ranks fifth in the league.
After the injury, Lindgren yielded the net to Darcy Kuemper, who gave up five goals for the second consecutive game. The team was also forced to summon an emergency goaltender, Thomas Sullivan, who played parts of three seasons at Stony Brook University.
Hunter Shepard, who served as backup for Clay Stevenson in Hershey’s victory over Rochester tonight, will likely be called up in the morning and it’s possible he could start against the Nashville Predators.
Screenshot: @Capitals/X
