Washington Capitals place Charlie Lindgren on IR, call up Hunter Shepard trucc

The Washington Capitals had some bad news on the goaltending front before their game against the Nahsville Predators. Charlie Lindgren heads to IR and up comes Hunter Shepard

The Washington Capitals have announced that Charlie Lindgren will enter injured reserve or IR for short. The team recalled goaltender Hunter Shepard to fill up the void ahead of their game on Saturday night against the Nashville Predators. Lindgren hurt himself in the previous night's game and him being on IR means he's first eligible to play again on Saturday Jan. 18 at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Prior to the injury, Lindgren started the game and stopped all nine of the shots that he faced before he sustained an upper body injury as he collided with Nick Suzki of the Montreal Canadiens in his own crease 16 seconds into the second period.

Logan Thompson would come into the game in relief and stopped 18 shots in the overtime defeat. He spoke to the media after the game about what it was like coming into the game out of the hockey bullpen. Via Harvey Valentine of NHL.com, Thompson said:

"It's never easy going in for your goalie partner when they're injured. 'Chucky' was having a great game. Credit to Montreal. They made it hard on me early. A couple of grade A chances that they buried. Could've made those saves and probably made it a different game, but credit to them. " - Logan Thompson

Shepard, who was called up from the Hershey Bears of the AHL, is 29 years old and 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 the Bears this season, ranking third in the American Hockey League in wins.

The six foot, 219 pound netminder 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 arned his first career win on Oct. 25, 2023 at the New Jersey Devils.

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 the Bears.

Puck drop tonight against the Predators is 8 p.m. Eastern on Monumental Sports Network. Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery will talk to the media prior to the game with no morning skate on the backend of the weekend back to back.