The Washington Capitals recalled goaltender Hunter Shepard from the AHL’s Hershey Bears and sent down forward Ivan Miroshnichenko, Saturday afternoon. Shepard arrives in DC after Charlie Lindgren was injured early in the team’s 5-1 loss to the New York Islanders on Friday.
Head coach Spencer Carbery revealed postgame that he expects Lindgren to be out for the “foreseeable future” and with the Capitals facing a back-to-back set of games, Shepard’s recall was imperative.
To make room for Shepard on the active roster, Miroshnichenko, who was healthy scratched on Long Island, was returned to Hershey for the second time in a week.
NEWS | The Capitals have recalled goaltender Hunter Shepard from the Hershey Bears and have loaned forward Ivan Miroshnichenko to Hershey. https://t.co/MXB8owBnHW
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 30, 2023
Shepard, who could end up starting against the Nashville Predators on Saturday, backed up Clay Stevenson for the Bears on Friday night. Shepard’s last NHL start came on November 11 against the Islanders and he stopped 36 of 37 shots in a 4-1 victory.
The 28-year-old netminder made his NHL debut earlier this season against the New Jersey Devils. In 16 games for Hershey this season, Shepard has amassed a 14-2 record with a 2.28 goals-against average, a .908 save percentage, and one shutout.
To combat the loss of Shepard, the Bears made a recall of their own summoning goaltender Mitch Gibson from the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. Gibson made his AHL debut earlier this season, picking up a 3-2 overtime victory over the Bridgeport Islanders.
Miroshnichenko heads back to the AHL after sitting out on Friday night. The Russian rookie got into his first four NHL games with the Capitals and while he did not record his first NHL point, still showed glimpses of his special offensive ability. In 41:30 of total ice time, Miro recorded six shots on goal on 10 shot attempts, five individual scoring chances, four individual high-danger chances, six hits, one blocked shot, and one minor penalty.
The 19-year-old winger even skated briefly in an All-Russian trio with Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov on Wednesday against the New York Rangers. While the process stats looked good there (76.7 percent of the expected goals), the Capitals gave up a goal with them on the ice that Carbery was not a fan of.
“I thought [the line] was okay,” Carbery said. “They created two or three looks. Miro has a couple good looks. They give up a goal chasing the game a little bit so hard to evaluate. They had a couple good chances, but it’s just what they gave up.”
The Capitals will host the Predators on Saturday looking to prevent a three-game losing streak. Per Capitals PR, the Caps are one of just eight teams in the NHL who have yet to lose three-straight regulation games this season. They’ll need to take out a Nashville team also looking for a win after losing three of their own matchups in a row.
Headline photo: Katie Adler/RMNB
