The Capitals have re-assigned AHL Hershey goalie Dany Sabourin to AHL Hershey. That indicates Michal Neuvirth is ready to return as the back-up goalie to Braden Holtby. A hip injury has kept Neuvirth out of the lineup since Florida Panthers forward Marco Sturm fell on him during a game April 5 at Verizon Center.
Neuvirth participated in his first full practice on Wednesday. He’s been alternating short stints with his teammates with days off to rest. But it appeared this week he was making progress towards full health. But with Holtby on a roll (141 saves on 148 shots), Neuvirth will be watching from the bench barring an injury. As for Sabourin, he will be the starting goalie for AHL Hershey on Friday night when they play at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in their Calder Cup playoff opener on Friday night.
“Obviously, it’s not going to be 100 percent,” Neuvirth said. “This thing’s got to heal up over the summer, and it is what it is.”
That sounds suspiciously like what Tomas Vokoun said before proclaiming himself ready to play against Boston on March 30 and then re-injuring his groin after just one period. In this case, though, Neuvirth just needs to be healthy enough to deal with the pain and enter a game on an emergency basis.
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