ARLINGTON, VA — The Washington Capitals will have their regular goalie tandem back in the lineup Saturday night with Charlie Lindgren ready to return from injury.
Per the NHL media site, the Capitals have activated Lindgren off of injured reserve after he missed three games with an upper-body injury. Lindgren confirmed to reporters after Saturday’s morning skate that he was good to back up against the Pittsburgh Penguins, though head coach Spencer Carbery noted that his return was contingent on final clearance from the team’s medical staff.
The media site also indicates the Capitals have returned goaltender Hunter Shepard to the Hershey Bears in a corresponding move.
Lindgren has been out of the lineup for just over a week, going down early in the second period against the Montreal Canadiens on January 10 after a collision in the crease. So far this season, he has a 10-8-2 record, a save percentage of .900, and a goals-against average of 2.65 goals, though he went 0-2-2 in his last four games before getting hurt.
In Lindgren’s absence, Logan Thompson stepped into a full-time starter’s role, dominating in his increased playing time. Thompson registered back-to-back shutouts against the Ottawa Senators and Anaheim Ducks and has a record of 3-0-1 since Lindgren’s injury.
Carbery confirmed that Thompson would start against Pittsburgh, but wouldn’t commit to whether he planned to continue splitting starts between the tandem with Lindgren back in the lineup.
“Logan will play tonight, and we’ll just see where it goes,” he said.
Shepard’s first potential start back in Hershey will come Sunday when the Bears face the Rochester Americans at home.
Update (2:00pm): The Capitals have made the move official, announcing Lindgren’s activation and Shepard’s loan Saturday afternoon.
NEWS | The Capitals have loaned goaltender Hunter Shepard to the Hershey Bears. In addition, the Capitals have activated goaltender Charlie Lindgren from Injured Reserve (IR).#ALLCAPS | @Shift4 https://t.co/WRhrdW4uC7
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) January 18, 2025
The full press release is below.
Capitals Loan Hunter Shepard to Hershey
Goaltender Charlie Lindgren activated from IR
ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have loaned goaltender Hunter Shepard 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).
Shepard, 29, has a record of 15-7-1 with a 2.68 goals-against average, an .898 save percentage and one shutout in 23 games with Hershey this season. The 6’0”, 219-pound goaltender ranks third in the AHL in wins.
Shepard appeared in four games with the Capitals last season, posting a 2-1-1 record with a 3.19 goals-against average and an .894 save percentage. Shepard made his NHL debut and earned his first career win on Oct. 25, 2023 at New Jersey. On Nov. 11, 2023 against the New York Islanders, Shepard stopped 36 of 37 shots and was named the game’s First Star in a 4-1 Washington win. Shepard was named to the AHL First All-Star Team after posting a record of 27-4-3 with a League-leading 1.76 goals-against average and .929 save percentage in 34 appearances with Hershey. Shepard established AHL single-season career highs in games played, wins, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts (5) and was awarded the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding goaltender for the 2023-24 season. In addition, Shepard’s .838 win percentage in the regular season was the highest in Hershey franchise history and the second-highest in AHL history. Shepard backstopped Hershey to their second-straight Calder Cup championship, posting a record of 14-6 with a 2.49 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage.
During the 2022-23 season, Shepard appeared in 33 games with Hershey, posting a record of 20-8-5 with a 2.18 goals-against average, a .916 save percentage and one shutout. Shepard ranked second among AHL goaltenders in goals-against average and tied for sixth in save percentage. Shepard, who was awarded the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the MVP of the Calder Cup Playoffs, started all 20 playoff games for the Bears, posting a 14-6 record with a 2.27 goals-against average, a .914 save percentage and three shutouts en route to the franchise’s league-record 12th championship. In 102 career AHL games with Hershey, Shepard has a record of 70-22-9 with a 2.10 goals-against average, a .919 save percentage and nine shutouts.
A native of Cohasset, Minnesota, Shepard won back-to-back NCAA Championships with Minnesota-Duluth in 2018 and 2019. In addition, he was twice named the National Collegiate Hockey Conference (NCHC) Goaltender of the Year (2019 and 2020) and earned First-Team All-American honors in 2019 and Second-Team All-American honors in 2020. With Minnesota-Duluth, Shepard started an NCAA-record 115 straight games from Oct. 21, 2017 to March 7, 2020. Shepard finished his NCAA career as a three-time Mike Richter Award Finalist – given to the NCAA’s top goaltender – and a three-time All-NCHC selection.
