Capitals’ Charlie Lindgren activated from injured reserve

The Washington Capitals have activated goaltender Charlie Lindgren from injured reserve.

Lindgren had missed the last three games with an upper-body injury, one he sustained on January 10th against the Montreal Canadiens when Nick Suzuki had collided with Lindgren in the crease. He was placed on injured reserve the following day. The Capitals went 3-0-0 with him out of the lineup.

While Lindgren will be returning from injury, he will not be starting on Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins. He will serve as the backup goaltender for the Capitals, while Logan Thompson will get the start.

Lindgren has taken a slight step back this season, as he has a 10-8-2 record, a .901 save percentage, and a +6.09 goals saved above expected in 21 games. Lindgren’s season is still quite serviceable, but sticks out a bit more in comparison to Thompson’s performance, as well as compared to his 2023-24 season that saw him get a 25-16-7 record, a .911 SV%, 6 shutouts and a +18.58 GSAx.

Lindgren is in the final year of a three-year contract with a $1.1 million cap hit, and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2024-25 season.

With Lindgren activated off of IR, the Capitals also sent Hunter Shepard down to the AHL with their minor league affiliate, the Hershey Bears, to make room on their roster. Shepard hasn’t gotten into an NHL game with the Caps this season, but has played 23 games with the Bears, where he has a 15-7-1 record, an .898 SV% and 1 shutout.

The Capitals are currently first in the Metropolitan Division with a 30-10-5 record, which is also tied with the Winnipeg Jets for the best record in the league, although the Capitals have played one fewer game. They will look to continue their three-game winning streak and nine-game point streak when they host the Penguins on Saturday at 7 p.m. EST.