Michal Neuvirth back to Hershey – for now

There’s another pretty good reason for Jose Theodore to start this afternoon against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Capitals have sent rookie goalie Michal Neuvirth back to AHL Hershey. The reason? To allow the 21-year-old to qualify to play in the AHL during the Olympic break. That’s the same reason defenseman Karl Alzner was sent down on Jan. 6. So Holtby is out on the ice for warm-ups for the second time in three games. He was also the backup during Wednesday’s win over Anaheim. Should have known something was up when Neuvirth came back to the locker room long after practice ended on Saturday. He had left his key card in the locker room and needed team officials to let him in.