The Washington Capitals appear to be getting Nic Dowd back in their lineup.

Dowd has been activated from injured reserve ahead of the team’s matchup with the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday night. In a corresponding move, the Capitals sent winger Bogdan Trineyev back to the AHL’s Hershey Bears.

Dowd missed his eighth-straight game with an upper-body injury on Tuesday night, missing the Capitals’ 3-1 win against his former team, the Los Angeles Kings. The 35-year-old centerman was placed on IR last week, earning Trineyev the first NHL recall of his career.

The veteran pivot has been a regular at Capitals practice since being placed on IR, but head coach Spencer Carbery was unable to provide a timeline for his return. Before leaving the lineup, Dowd was serving as the team’s third-line center between Ryan Leonard and Anthony Beauvillier.

Dowd has recorded five points (1g, 4a) in 19 games for the Capitals this season. He had a career high of 27 points (14, 13a) in 82 games last year.

Trineyev was able to be freely sent back to the Bears, as he had already cleared waivers when he was cut from the Capitals’ training camp roster and hadn’t been on the NHL roster for 30 cumulative days or played in 10 games. He was a healthy scratch in all four games the team played with him on the roster.

Trineyev returns to a Hershey team that has won six of their last 10 games. In 15 games for the Bears this season, Trineyev recorded 12 points (6g, 6a). He had been playing on a line with fellow Capitals prospects Ivan Miroshnichenko and Ilya Protas before his recall.

Here’s the full press release from the Capitals:

Capitals Loan Bogdan Trineyev to Hershey
Forward Nic Dowd activated from IR

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Washington Capitals have loaned forward Bogdan Trineyev to the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL), senior vice president and general manager Chris Patrick announced today. In addition, the Capitals have activated forward Nic Dowd from Injured Reserve (IR).

Trineyev, 23, has recorded 12 points (6g, 6a) in 15 games with Hershey this season. The 6’3”, 206-pound forward ranks first on the Bears in plus-minus rating (+8), second in goals and third in points.

Trineyev registered 22 points (14g, 8a) in 62 games with Hershey last season. Trineyev ranked tied for first on the Bears in shorthanded goals (1), third in plus-minus (+13), fifth in shots (109) and sixth in goals. Trineyev also led Hershey with five goals and seven points in eight Calder Cup Playoff games.

During his first full AHL season in 2023-24, Trineyev recorded 16 points (9g, 7a) in 63 games with Hershey. The Voronezh, Russia native led Bears rookies in games played and ranked second among first-year players in goals, assists, points and plus-minus (+12). In addition, Trineyev’s three shorthanded goals led Hershey and ranked tied for first among AHL rookies. Trineyev appeared in all 20 games during Hershey’s run to the Calder Cup championship, registering four assists.

Trineyev spent the 2022-23 season with Dynamo Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL), where he recorded 13 points (2g, 11a) in 39 games. Trineyev ranked tied for ninth on the team in assists and tied for seventh in hits (41) in the regular season and added two assists in five KHL playoff games. Trineyev also appeared in two games with Dynamo St. Petersburg of the Supreme Hockey League (Russia-2) and two games with Hershey during the 2022-23 season.

Drafted by the Capitals in the fourth round (117th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft, Trineyev played in two Calder Cup Playoff games with Hershey in 2022, making his AHL debut in Game 2 of the Bears’ first round series against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. In 142 career AHL games, Trineyev has recorded 50 points (29g, 21a) and a +33 plus-minus rating.