Last night, Caps right wing Eric Fehr believed he would be heading up to Hershey for the weekend. With the 24-year-old at the tail end of his rehab from dual shoulder surgery in the off-season, the Caps had an inkling to send Fehr to Hershey on a conditioning stint. The Bears are playing three games in as many nights this weekend.

Fehr took the warm-up prior to last night's game with the Rangers, then watched Washington's 4-3 loss to the Blueshirts from the press box upstairs. Assured that none of the Capitals' forwards had sustained any injuries, Fehr got in the car and began his journey to south central Pennsylvania.

Somewhere around Frederick, Md., Fehr got a call from Caps coach Bruce Boudreau asking him to turn around and head back. Boudreau had originally targeted Monday's date with the Devils or Thursday's skirmish with the Sharks as Fehr's return date, but now it's looking like Fehr could be in the lineup when the Caps visit Detroit on Saturday night. He skated on the team's third line with David Steckel and Chris Clark at Friday's practice.

"I'll take the game here," says Fehr, not lamenting an AHL weekend that never came to be. "Hopefully I can get my feet wet and play well."

Washington has racked up 18 goals in the season's first four games, but only six different players -- the team's top six forwards -- have contributed to that total.The Caps have yet to get a goal from any of their bottom six forwards or any of their defensemen.

Fehr had a pair of 50-goal seasons as a junior in the WHL and had a couple of 20-goal campaigns with Hershey. He had a dozen goals for the Caps last season, his NHL career high. It's not fair to expect Fehr to single-handedly fix Washington's secondary scoring woes, but once he gets back to form he is capable of a healthy offensive contribution.

"I don't really know what to expect," says Fehr. "I'm going to go out there and go hard, and hopefully I can help contribute on the scoresheet in some way and just help this team get back to its winning ways."

Instead of earning the distinction of becoming the first Bear to wear the Chocolate and White for Boudreau, Bob Woods, and Mark French, Fehr hopes to be playing his first career game at the storied Joe Louis Arena in Detroit.

"I really wanted to play," he says. "I looked on the calendar and saw this game in Detroit. Anywhere there is an Original Six team, there is a lot of history there. I take a lot of pride in playing against teams like that. It's real exciting for me."