The roster shuffling in Washington continues. After recalling both players on an emergency basis in recent days, the team announced that goaltender Hunter Shepard and winger Matthew Phillips have been returned to AHL Hershey.
Shepard was brought up on Thursday following Darcy Kuemper being banged up in practice the day before. However, the veteran was between the pipes on Friday against Carolina, meaning emergency conditions no longer existed so Shepard needed to go back down or be converted to a standard recall.
The 28-year-old made his NHL debut this season, getting into four games with the Capitals, posting a 3.19 GAA and a .894 SV%. Shepard has spent most of the year with Hershey and has done quite well, putting up a 25-3-3 record with a 1.80 GAA and a .927 SV% in 31 games, leading the league in GAA and SV%.
As for Phillips, he was brought up on an emergency basis on Friday but didn’t play which meant emergency conditions no longer existed for him as well. The 26-year-old is in his first season with Washington and has a goal and four assists in 31 games with the Caps. He also has three points in five games with Hershey. He’s set to become a Group Six unrestricted free agent for the second straight summer and might be hard-pressed to secure another one-way contract after getting one from the Capitals back in July.
“The 26-year-old” – fun fact, today is Matthew Phillips’s birthday. Happy birthday, kid, you’ve been demoted.