Shepard was placed on waivers by the Capitals on Sunday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.
Shepard missed the end of the preseason due to a lower-body injury and will be left off Washington's Opening Night roster. He made four regular-season appearances for the Capitals last year and posted a 2-1-1 record, 3.18 GAA and .894 save percentage.
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Capitals' Hunter Shepard: Dealing with lower-body injury
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Shepard wasn't on the ice for Wednesday's practice session due to a lower-body injury, Bailey Johnson of The Washington Post reports.
The severity of Shepard's injury isn't clear, but he was being evaluated by the Capitals' medical staff during Wednesday's practice. The 28-year-old started in Washington's preseason loss to the Bruins on Sept. 24, but if he's healthy for the start of the regular season, he'll likely head to the AHL, where he's had plenty of success.
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Capitals' Hunter Shepard: Back in NHL
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Shepard was recalled from AHL Hershey on Thursday.
Shepard has a 2-1-1 record, 3.18 GAA and .894 save percentage in four appearances with Washington this season. Darcy Kuemper tweaked something during Wednesday's practice, per Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press, and while that might not lead to Kuemper missing time, Shepard was summoned for precautionary reasons.
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Capitals' Hunter Shepard: Returns to AHL
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Shepard was reassigned to AHL Hershey on Saturday.
Darcy Kuemper had been dealing with an illness, which is why Shepard was with the Capitals, but Kuemper is healthy enough to serve as the backup goalie Saturday against Chicago. Shepard has a 3.19 GAA and an .894 save percentage in four appearances with Washington this season.
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Capitals' Hunter Shepard: Summoned Friday
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Shepard is back up from AHL Hershey on Friday.
Shepard was briefly loaned to Hershey earlier in the day for roster flexibility purposes. If Darcy Kuemper (illness) ends up being available for Saturday's game against Chicago, then Shepard might once again head to the minors.
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Capitals' Hunter Shepard: Up from minors
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Shepard was summoned from AHL Hershey on Thursday.
Shepard has a 3.19 GAA and an .894 save percentage in four contests with Washington this season. He also has posted a 2.00 GAA and a .919 save percentage in 26 outings with Hershey. Shepard's up with the big club because Darcy Kuemper might miss Thursday's game against Pittsburgh due to an illness.
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Capitals' Hunter Shepard: Fades late against Devils
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Shepard made 22 saves in Wednesday's 6-3 loss to New Jersey.
The Capitals came back once to tie the game at 3-3 late in the second period, but Shepard had plenty of traffic in front of him during the final 20-plus minutes and wound up allowing three more goals on just nine shots down the stretch. Since being recalled from AHL Hershey last week, the 28-year-old netminder has gone 0-1-1 in two starts while giving up eight goals on 64 shots, but both outings came on the second half of back-to-back sets. Darcy Kuemper figures to see the bulk of the work while Charlie Lindgren (upper body) is on IR.
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Capitals' Hunter Shepard: Slated to start Wednesday
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Shepard is set to start at home against New Jersey on Wednesday, per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com.
Shepard stopped 34 of 36 shots in a 3-2 shootout loss to Nashville in his last start Saturday. He's 2-0-1 with a 2.27 GAA and a .926 save percentage in three outings in 2023-24. The Devils are a difficult assignment, ranking seventh offensively this year with 3.46 goals per game.
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Capitals' Hunter Shepard: Loses in shootout
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Shepard allowed two goals on 36 shots in Saturday's 3-2 shootout loss to the Predators.
Shepard made plenty of strong saves in regulation and overtime, but Gustav Nyquist and Ryan O'Reilly put pucks past him in the shootout. The 28-year-old Shepard has not been defeated in regulation this season, going 2-0-1 with seven goals allowed on 95 shots across his three appearances. He'll likely serve as Darcy Kuemper's backup for as long as Charlie Lindgren (upper body) is out.
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Capitals' Hunter Shepard: Expected to start Saturday
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Shepard will start in Saturday's home game versus Nashville, Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press reports.
Shepard was recalled from AHL Hershey on Saturday because Charlie Lindgren is dealing with an upper-body injury. Darcy Kuemper, who stopped 24 of 29 shots in a 5-1 loss to the Islanders on Friday, will serve as the backup goaltender versus the Predators. Shepard is 2-0-0 with a 2.50 GAA and a .915 save percentage in two contests with Washington this season. The Predators have lost their last three games while scoring just eight goals, so this is a favorable matchup for the 28-year-old goaltender.
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Capitals' Hunter Shepard: Up from minors
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Shepard was summoned from AHL Hershey on Saturday.
Shepard has a 2.28 GAA and a .908 save percentage in 16 contests with Hershey this year. He also has appeared in two games with Washington, providing a 2-0-0 record, 2.50 GAA and .915 save percentage. Charlie Lindgren left Friday's 5-1 loss to the Islanders because of an upper-body injury, which is presumably why Shepard was recalled. Darcy Kuemper entered that contest, stopping 24 of 29 shots in 53:14 of ice time, so there's a chance Washington might start Shepard for Saturday's home game against Nashville rather than make Kuemper play for the second straight night.
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Capitals' Hunter Shepard: Dropped to AHL
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Shepard was returned to AHL Hershey on Monday, per the NHL media site.
Shepard will be replaced in the lineup as the backup goalie by Charlie Lindgren (illness), who will return from a one-game absence. Darcy Kuemper will start between the pipes against the Coyotes on Monday.
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Capitals' Hunter Shepard: Returned to AHL
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Shepard was reassigned to AHL Hershey on Tuesday, according to Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network.
Darcy Kuemper (undisclosed) will be Charlie Lindgren's backup in Tuesday's contest versus Vegas, so Shepard will return to the minors. The 28-year-old Shepard has won both of his NHL starts this season, stopping 54 of 59 shots.
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Capitals' Hunter Shepard: Sent back to AHL
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Shepard was sent down to AHL Hershey on Sunday.
Shepard was excellent Sunday against the Islanders, stopping 36 of 37 shots in a win. However, the 28-year-old netminder will return to the AHL, indicating Darcy Kuemper (undisclosed) should be ready to go before Washington's next game vs. Vegas. Shepard won both of his two starts with the Capitals this season, allowing five goals on 59 shots.
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Capitals' Hunter Shepard: Recalled from AHL
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Shepard was called up from AHL Hershey on Friday, according to Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press.
Shepard made his NHL debut Oct. 25, stopping 18 of 22 shots in a 6-4 win over New Jersey. He was sent back to the minors three days later and has gone 4-1-0 with a 2.35 GAA and .910 save percentage at the AHL level. With Darcy Kuemper (undisclosed) sidelined, Shepard will back up Charlie Lindgren against New Jersey on Friday.
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Capitals' Hunter Shepard: Heading back to AHL
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Shepard was sent down to AHL Hershey on Saturday, per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com.
Shepard's reassignment is the result of Charlie Lindgren (back) being ready to return Sunday as Darcy Kuemper's backup. The 27-year-old Shepard made one start for Washington this year, allowing four goals on 22 shots in a 6-4 win over the Devils.
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Capitals' Hunter Shepard: Starting Wednesday
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Shepard will defend the road net Wednesday against New Jersey, per Tarik El-Bashir of Monumental Sports Network.
Shepard will make his NHL debut in the second half of Washington's back-to-back after Darcy Kuemper plays in Tuesday's matchup with Toronto. The 27-year-old Shepard has a 30-11-5 record with a 2.11 GAA and a .920 save percentage in 47 AHL appearances over the past four seasons, including two contests during the 2023-24 campaign.
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Capitals' Hunter Shepard: Unavailable Saturday
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Shepard (upper body) won't play Saturday versus the Maple Leafs, Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic reports.
Shepard has been backing up Charlie Lindgren since Darcy Kuemper (upper body) has been out. The backup role will be filled by Zach Fucale on Saturday, and it's unclear how long Shepard might be out.
