Two important Caps players placed on injured reserve

The injury bug finally caught the Washington Capitals on Sunday, as Ryan Leonard and Charlie Lindgren both landed on injured reserve.

To plug the holes, the team recalled forward Bogdan Trineyev and goaltender Clay Stevenson from the Hershey Bears.

Leonard, a 20 year old winger taken eighth overall in 2023, had just posted a four point night in San Jose on Wednesday.

He left Friday's shootout loss in Anaheim early with an upper body injury after a brutal blindside hit from Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba.

The hit drew plenty of outrage, especially after officials downgraded a major to no penalty on review. Leonard sits on 7 goals and 11 assists through 28 games, giving Washington fast, fearless offense in its middle six.

Lindgren, 31, had quietly stabilized the crease again, going 4 3 1 with a 3.12 goals against and .886 save percentage in nine appearances.

After stopping 23 of 24 shots in the 7 1 rout of San Jose, he missed Anaheim with an upper body issue and now hits IR.

In goal, Logan Thompson will keep carrying the mail, while Stevenson slides in as backup after posting a 7 4 0 record and .913 save percentage in Hershey this year. That follows an 18 8 4 season in 2024 25, plus a 24 win rookie campaign where he led the AHL with seven shutouts.

Trineyev, 23, is a 6 foot 3 fourth rounder from 2020 who has 12 points and a plus seven rating in 16 games for Hershey this season. Across 143 AHL games he has 29 goals, 21 assists and a sparkling plus 32, so this is a reward earned, not a body thrown in.

Expect Spencer Carbery to lean on Tom Wilson and Aliaksei Protas for more heavy lifting on the forecheck with Leonard out, especially in that matchup driven third line role.

Leonard's speed tilted entries in Washington's favor, so any replacement will likely be asked to keep plays alive on the walls and get pucks into the slot.