Washington Capitals
After playing just 29 games in his NHL career, Charlie Lindgren was a virtual unknown to the Capitals when they signed him to a three-year contract in free agency this past summer. While the sample size was small, the team believed there was potential for the St. Cloud State product, who picked up his first win as a member of the Washington Capitals in a 6-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils.
The Lakeville, Minnesota native shined in his second start in a Caps sweater, following a string of games played by number one Darcy Kuemper. Lindgren stopped 26 of 27 shots through two periods of play, and finished the contest with a .927 Save Percentage.
Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, one of the goal-scorers on the night, had high praise for his netminder following the victory.
Alex Ovechkin on Charlie Lindgren (37 saves): “Chuckie today was unstoppable.”
— Samantha Pell (@SamanthaJPell) October 25, 2022
The Caps’ backup netminder stopped 37 of 40 shots faced, and 30-33 at even-strength. Lindgren came up big at several junctures of the game, keeping the Capitals’ lead just out of reach of New Jersey.
Our first star#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/uFTmVOVEwF
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 25, 2022
Lindgren made his first start of the season in a loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 13, and although he allowed three goals on 39 shots faced, he finished that night with a .923 Save Percentage and a better performance than indicated on paper. Tonight pushed his season Save Percentage to .924, and a 1-1-0 record.
After the victory, “Chuckie” was awarded the post-game fire rope for his efforts on the night.
🪢CHUCKIE🪢#ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/gKrEmt3OyO
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 25, 2022
Through his first two starts, Lindgren is proving to be a solid addition to the crease and a reliable backup to Kuemper, who understandably drew more attention as the team’s marquee offseason addition. However the number two in Washington has given the Capitals’ coaching staff a reliable fallback option, something the Caps lacked the past two seasons.
By Michael Fleetwood
Dude played his heart out in both games. A lot of people were scratching their heads at this signing, but so far, it’s paying off. No disrespect to Sammy and Vicky for what they did for us, but we got ourselves a heck of a goalie tandem this year.
Roger that. I think I wanna see him get more starts. 🤷♂️
Me too. I know it’s been good for Kuemper to get as many as he’s had. “Chuckie” is so good, I’d love to see him get more starts. As was said, it’s nice to have a reliable tandem in net.
He should be our new starter. He’s got right now, ride him!
Are we the only team with three people from SCSU on a team? That has to be a record.