Grubauer allowed four goals on 23 shots in the Capitals win in Edmonton last Friday. It wasn’t a pretty performance, but the offence was able to do enough to earn him his first ‘W’of the season. On Saturday he takes on a solid Panthers team, but they will be without two of their top guns (Barkov & Jagr).

Eberle has missed the first 10 games of the season with a shoulder injury. He was placed on LTIR this morning, but is eligible to return whenever he is healthy. Eberle’s movement to LTIR allowed the Oilers to recall Leon Draisaitl. His return to practice is a good sign that he is on pace with his 4-6 week timetable—he is currently four weeks into that recovery.

Eberle has been placed on longterm injured reserve retroactive to the start of the season, which means he is eligible to return to the lineup whenever he is healthy. Eberle’s movement to LTIR gave the Oilers’ cap relief to recall Leon Draisaitl.

Schwartz was injured in practice on Friday and will now miss 12 weeks or three months of time. This timetable would put Schwartz out until late-January which would likely see him miss 40 games. This is a terrible break for the Blues, who will likely move Robby Fabbri into the top six when he is healthy and could be forced to move some blueline depth to pick up a forward.

After being helped off of the ice at practice this afternoon, Schwartz was taken to the hospital to have his leg examined. This obviously is not good news for Schwartz or the Blues, who are expected to give a full update on Saturday morning. With Schwartz out and Robby Fabbri still sidelined, the Blues have recalled Ty Rattie from Chicago (AHL).

Schwartz reportedly had to be helped off of the ice by his teammates after crashing legs-first into the net. We saw Logan Couture suffer a serious injury in practice last week and it looks like Schwartz might be the latest victim of practice injuries. Stay tuned, but it doesn’t look good for Schwartz.

Braden Holtby has started the first six games of the season, but they will turn to Grubauer on Friday in Edmonton. The 23-year-old beat out Justin Peters for the Capitals’ backup job and comes into Friday’s contest having gone 7-6-5 with a 2.44 GAA and .924 SV% in his first 16 NHL starts and four relief appearances.

Stephenson, 21, was the Capitals third round pick (77th overall) in 2012. He had 14 points (7G / 7A) in 54 games with Hershey last season and one assist in one game this season. He will make his NHL debut on Thursday.

Eberle left Tuesday’s preseason game with a shoulder injury and was seen wearing a sling after the game. This afternoon the Oilers announced that their star winger will miss at least the first three weeks of the regular season with a shoulder injury. His injury means that Anton Slepyshev will probably start the season with the Oilers and Leon Draisaitl could start in the top-6.

Eberle left the game after taking a hit into the end boards and departed the ice immediately. Eberle was reportedly spotted wearing a sling after the game which isn’t an encouraging sign. The Oilers have yet to disclose the exact nature or severity of the injury, so stay tuned.

Grubauer has been recalled and will start Game 2 if Braden Holtby (illness) can’t play tonight. Grubauer has gone 27-17-5 with a 2.30 GAA and .921 SV% in 49 games with Hershey (AHL). Holtby is expected to get the nod, but Grubauer has been recalled as a precaution.

Burakovsky has 22 points (9G / 13A) in 50 games with the Capitals this season. While in Hershey he has collected three goals and four assists in 13 games.

Grubauer served as Braden Holtby’s backup on Monday, but his return to the AHL is either to save money since they’re off until Thursday or suggests that Justin Peters will be good-to-go in Minnesota.

Oleksiak had no points in four games during his recall. Oleksiak’s return to the AHL suggests that John Klingberg will be back on Thursday.

Burakovsky was sent down because of cap reasons in order for the Capitals to recall Philipp Grubauer. Chris Conner has also been recalled to fill the hole left by Burakovsky going down.

With Justin Peters injured, the Capitals needed a second goaltender for tonight’s game. Grubauer will likely serve as Braden Holtby’s backup tonight vs. the Bruins.

Burakovsky is expected to be back in the Capitals lineup on Friday. The young centre has nine goals and 12 assists (21 points) in 49 games this season.

Burakovsky was a healthy scratch last night, so the Capitals have assigned him to Hershey so he can play tonight. Expect him to be recalled again soon.