The Washington Capitals should be back at full strength in goal ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Monday morning, the team activated backup goaltender Charlie Lindgren from injured reserve and sent Garin Bjorklund back down to the AHL’s Hershey Bears.
Lindgren has been on IR since January 29 when he suffered a lower-body injury against the Detroit Red Wings at the end of overtime. He was then carried off the ice by his teammates after winning the game in the shootout.
Lindgren has been practicing at full strength since February 17 — the Capitals’ first skate back during the Olympic break.
Despite the Caps not playing over the last two weeks, Bjokrlund was up with the Capitals due to a CBA quirk, where each NHL team must have two healthy goaltenders on the roster at all times. Bjorklund was brought up on February 10, replacing Clay Stevenson on the Capitals roster, which then allowed the Bears’ starter to play with Hershey during most of the Olympic break.
The Capitals’ first game back will be at home against the Flyers, Wednesday night. Spencer Carbery told reporters on Sunday he believed Logan Thompson would be on a flight home from Italy today.
Here’s the full press release:
Capitals Loan Garin Bjorklund to Hershey
Goaltender Charlie Lindgren activated from IR
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have loaned goaltender Garin Bjorklund to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), senior vice president and general manager Chris Patrick announced today. In addition, the Capitals have activated goaltender Charlie Lindgren from Injured Reserve (IR).
Bjorklund, 23, has a 4-5-3 record with a 3.47 goals-against average, a .881 save percentage and one shutout in 12 games played with Hershey this season. The 6’2”, 195-pound goaltender has also appeared in seven games with the South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL), posting a record of 4-2-0 with a 2.37 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.
In 2024-25, Bjorklund posted a 21-4-3 record with a 2.02 goals-against average, a .927 save percentage and one shutout in 29 games with South Carolina. The Grande Prairie, Alberta native ranked second in the ECHL in goals-against average and third in save percentage, helping the Stingrays capture the Brabham Cup championship as the ECHL team with the best record in the regular season. Bjorklund also made two starts for Hershey, going 2-0-0 with a 1.49 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage. Bjorklund made his AHL debut on March 26, 2025, making 26 saves in a 4-1 win at Bridgeport.
Bjorklund appeared in 27 games with South Carolina in 2023-24, posting a record of 14-11-1 with a 3.33 goals-against average, a .882 save percentage and one shutout.
In 14 career AHL games with Hershey, Bjorklund has a 6-5-3 record with a 3.17 goals-against average, a .889 save percentage and one shutout. Bjorklund has a 40-17-4 record with a 2.63 goals-against average, a .907 save percentage and two shutouts in 64 career ECHL games with South Carolina.
The Capitals selected Bjorklund in the sixth round (179th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft.
