Washington Capitals buck NHL trend and send goaltender Charlie Lindgren ready to start two days in a row. (He is The outlaw after all. BANG BANG.)
The Caps will qualify for the playoffs and earn the second wild card spot in the East if they can pull out a win against the Flyers.
Head coach Spencer Carbery revealed the decision during his pre-game press conference before the Capitals faced the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wells Fargo Center.
“We came to the same conclusion as we did in the last four or five games, when our season was kind of on the brink,” Carbery told Adam Kimelman of NHL.com. “Chuckie is probably our most valuable player. He is the reason we are in this place or a big reason why we are in this place. So for us, and the way he played, he deserved this opportunity to play the last game of the season where our chips are in the middle of the table.
Lindgren posted his NHL-high sixth shutout of the season Monday night against the Boston Bruins. The 30-year-old backstop was only called upon to make 16 saves in total, and just four each in the first and second periods.
CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CH CHUTOUT pic.twitter.com/AbFpjMFEex
– Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 16, 2024
The light workload, the importance of the Philadelphia game and Darcy Kuemper’s struggles this season were likely factors in Carbery’s decision. Kuemper hasn’t won a start since late February.
“Playing games like this, I’ve been dreaming of this moment for 20 years, honestly,” Lindgren said Monday night. “Since I started playing. (It’s) the kind of game where me, at 10 years old, thinking about playing in the NHL, with an eye toward the playoffs, I would have to pinch myself. So I feel incredibly lucky and blessed to play for the Capitals and play for DC. I can’t wait to play tomorrow.
Lindgren also started both back-to-back home-and-home games against the New York Rangers in mid-January. Lindgren was phenomenal in appearances as the Capitals went 1-1 against the President’s Trophy winners. The Caps won the first game at home 3-2 and lost the second game in New York 2-1. Lindgren stopped 54 of 58 shots.
“Obviously, I played a lot of back-to-back games in college and I played a lot of back-to-back games in the American League,” Lindgren said then. “So for me, it was nothing really new. I found out shortly after last night’s game, so I was able to figure it out, recover that night and prepare for what was a big test today.
Against the Flyers this season, Lindgren is 1-1, winning his last start 5-2 against Philadelphia with 21 saves.
