- Many don’t necessarily think about when an NHL team chooses to recall a player from their affiliate, it could set off a chain reaction of needs within their system, and that’s just what happened with the Washington Capitals and their goaltenders. When Darcy Kuemper went down a couple of weeks ago, the team recalled Hunter Shepard, which Hershey was able to cope with by recalling Clay Stevenson from the ECHL. No problem. But, when Washington also recalled Zachary Fucale yesterday in the wake of Shepard’s upper-body injury, Hershey was forced to sign an emergency back-up to a PTO for their game last night. Today, the Bears were able to smooth things out in net prior to their game against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this afternoon, bringing up netminder Tyler Wall from the South Carolina Stingrays, Hershey and Washington’s ECHL affiliate. In a corresponding move, defenseman Martin Has has been sent to South Carolina. While this is a relatively minor move, it does give context for the transactions NHL teams make that sometimes seem to be done just for the sake of doing them.
Capitals Rumors
T.J. Oshie Listed As Day-To-Day With Upper-Body Injury
- After Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie exited last night’s game, many wondered if the veteran had re-aggravated the injury that has forced him to miss fairly significant time this season and last. Though a clearer picture on his injury isn’t available, The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell reports that Oshie is now listed as day-to-day, perhaps a fortunate break for Washington. Oshie, who turns 36 in a few days, did not participate in the Capitals’ optional skate this morning, which might be expected even in a best-case scenario.
T.J. Oshie Exits Saturday's Game With Upper-Body Injury
- Washington Capitals forward T.J. Oshie left tonight’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs with an upper-body injury and did not return, per a team announcement. According to the Capitals, Oshie will be re-evaluated tomorrow. What exactly happened to the veteran is unclear, however he did return to the Capitals bench, but declined to actually sit before later heading down the tunnel gingerly.
Nic Dowd, Hunter Shepard Ruled Out For Saturday
- Washington Capitals forward Nic Dowd will miss tonight’s game with a lower-body injury, reports The Athletics Tarik El-Bashir. It’s unclear what exactly is ailing Dowd or how serious the injury might be, however he did leave Thursday’s game a touch early, playing just 9:39 in the game, down from his season average of 13:03. Also of note, goaltender Hunter Shepard has been ruled out of tonight’s game with an upper-body injury, which would explain the team’s earlier recall of netminder Zachary Fucale.
Washington Capitals Recall Zachary Fucale
5:31 pm: According to Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic, Shephard has been ruled out of tonight’s game with an upper-body injury, necessitating the Fucale recall.
4:25 pm: The Washington Capitals announced late this afternoon that they’ve recalled goaltender Zachary Fucale from the Hershey
Bears, their AHL affiliate. Fucale will join the pairing of Charlie Lindgren and Hunter Shepard in net for Washington. Shepard had been recalled on an emergency basis in the wake of Darcy Kuemper’s injury and subsequent placement on IR back on December 3rd. No corresponding moves were announced.
Despite bringing Shepard up nearly two weeks ago, the Capitals haven’t played the netminder just yet, opting to have Lindgren shoulder the load. Lindgren, who Washington signed to a three-year deal this offseason to back up Kuemper, has had a solid start to the season, recording a .910 save-percentage and 2.76 goals-against average in 14 games, but has really stepped things up since Kuemper went down, posting five of his seven wins along with a .936 save-percentage, surrendering just 11 goals over the six games.
Shepard, 27, was off to a dominant start in the AHL with a .932 save-percentage and 1.83 goals-against in his first eight games, but along with Lindgren’s superb performance, Shepard simply has never played in the NHL and has spent the bulk of his professional career in the ECHL.
It’s unclear what Washington’s plan is with Fucale now that he’s been called up as well. Unlike Shepard, Fucale has struggled this season with Hershey, however he does have longer track record of professional hockey, dating back to 2015-16. At one point considered one of the more exciting goaltending prospects in the NHL, the former Montreal Canadiens draft pick has only recently made his NHL debut, getting into four games for the Capitals last season.
Nicklas Backstrom Cleared For Contact
Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom took another important step back towards returning as NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti reports (Twitter link) that the veteran was in a regular sweater at their morning skate today which means that he has been cleared for contact. Backstrom has yet to play this season after undergoing hip surgery back in June, one that had his availability to play in 2022-23 in question. However, the fact he’s participating in full in team skates suggests that the 35-year-old should be able to return in the somewhat near future. With the holiday break coming next week, it’s likely that Washington will wait to activate him until after that time but it appears that the Caps will have a key player back in the second half of the season.
The Capitals will need to create salary cap space to activate Backstrom once he’s ready but it’s worth noting that Tom Wilson, who has yet to play this year after undergoing knee surgery, is not currently on LTIR. Once Backstrom is ready to return, Washington will move Wilson to LTIR, freeing up a good chunk of the room needed to bring the center back while other roster tweaks will get them into cap compliance.
Washington Capitals Won't Rebuild During Alex Ovechkin's Record Chase
- Speaking to reporters, including ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis said the team won’t enter a rebuild while Alex Ovechkin is still chasing the NHL’s all-time goals record. Ovechkin has noted a desire to remain competitive while chasing the record, vying for team and individual success. Leonsis also noted that Wayne Gretzky himself will be in attendance for all Capitals games as Ovechkin inches toward his record of 894 career goals.
Orlov Returns, Gustafsson Out With Upper-Body Injury
The Capitals got some good news and bad news on their back end for tonight’s contest against Winnipeg. The good news is that after missing 16 games, defenseman Dmitry Orlov was activated off IR, relays Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic (Twitter link). However, they also lost blueliner Erik Gustafsson to an upper-body injury, notes Samantha Pell of the Washington Post (Twitter link). The net trade-off is certainly a positive as Orlov, a long-term top-four player for them, is jumping right back onto their top pairing although Gustafsson is tied for the team lead in assists by a defender with ten.
Capitals Loan Dylan McIlrath To AHL Hershey
- Just after they recently called him up, the Washington Capitals sent Dylan McIlrath back to the AHL’s Hershey Bears. This move takes away the possibility of McIlrath playing in his first NHL game since 2019-20. McIlrath has spent this season as a top-four defenseman in Hershey, scoring five points in 22 games.
Backstrom, Wilson, Orlov, Kuemper Skating; Fehervary, Alexeyev Not
It’s been a tough season thus far for the Washington Capitals, who sit three points out of the New York Rangers and a Wild Card spot in the East and six points back of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes for a spot in the Metropolitan Division. No team will ever make excuses, however injuries have been unrelenting for Washington even before the puck dropped on the 2022-23 season. The organization expected a tough go of it early on without some of their stars and all things considered, 30 points in 29 games is not half bad. They’ll have to have a strong season the rest of the way to get into the postseason, but as of right now, injury updates look positive.
Earlier today, the Capitals placed defenseman Alexander Alexeyev and goaltender Darcy Kuemper on IR and recalled defensemen Lucas Johansen and Dylan McIlrath. For Kuemper, that’s not expected to be much of an issue, eligible to come off of IR as soon as Tuesday, and according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti, the netminder participated in the team’s morning skate today for the first time since suffering the injury. Also from Gulitti, veteran Dmitry Orlov, who has not played since November 5th due to a lower-body injury, also skated this morning. Perhaps the best news, even if nothing is imminent, is forwards Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson skated this morning in non-contact jerseys, traveling with the team on the road for the first time this season, which appears to be the norm going forward. Both core pieces of this generation’s Capitals squad, getting either back in the lineup would be a massive boost not only to on-ice production, but to off-ice morale too. Still, one bit of bad news, both Alexeyev and Martin Fehervary did not skate this morning, and fellow defenseman Erik Gustafsson left practice early, head coach Peter Laviolette telling Gulitti the Capitals and Gustafsson are “working through some things.”
- The Winnipeg Jets will be without forward Saku Maenalanen and defenseman Logan Stanley when they take on the Capitals this evening says Scott Billeck of the Winnipeg Sun. No update beyond that was given by associate coach Scott Arniel. Billeck adds that the Jets are trying to get an additional player called up from the Manitoba Moose to join the Jets at home this evening. Billeck adds the Moose, who actually share an arena with the Jets, are on their way to Calgary, however getting a player back from Calgary to Winnipeg by tonight shouldn’t be an issue. As for the injured players, Maenalanen has impressed in a depth role for the Jets this year, recording six points in 25 games, averaging 11:30 a night, his first NHL action since a stint with the Carolina Hurricanes back in 2018-19. Unfortunately for Stanley, who missed a-month-and-a-half, was able to play just two games after coming back before being forced out of the lineup once again.